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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23944774">Little Wonders</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/entiegon/pseuds/entiegon'>entiegon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians &amp; Related Fandoms - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Christmas, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Dreams, Forbidden Love, Friendship, Love Letters, Memories, Mentions of Death, Mentions of War, Mild Language, Multi, One Shot Collection, Romance, Siblings, Slight swearing, Some Humor, Teen Angst, Teen Crush, Teen Romance, Teenagers, baby Percy Jackson, father/son moment, inspired by songs, remembering, started writing after The Lost Hero, valentines day</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 00:42:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>36,520</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23944774</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/entiegon/pseuds/entiegon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever wondered what Percy did for his first official Valentine's Day as Annabeth's boyfriend even though Hera made him sleep through it? Or how Connor seems to be the one who managed to get Katie and Travis together? Well... Just a series of one-shots on some of my favourite, and series proposed, couples. Also friendship/sibling.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Calypso/Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Jason Grace/Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Juniper/Grover Underwood, Katie Gardner/Travis Stoll, Nico di Angelo/Thalia Grace, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Nyssa Barrera/Will Solace, Piper McLean/Leo Valdez, Silena Beauregard/Charles Beckendorf</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>99</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Percabeth: Little Wonders</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a collection of one-shots that I started years ago. Most of these are also based with some song in mind. Back then, I figured I'd try something new instead of just uploading one-shot after one-shot and bunch a whole heap of like-minded one-shots together. This was born. I hope you all enjoy them here as they have been enjoyed on Fanfiction.net and please note that I own nothing that came from the Percy Jackson series. </p><p>First chapter is based around the song Little Wonders by Rob Thomas and contains some lyrics from the song.<br/>First chapter pairing is Percabeth.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Annabeth, the kid from the video scroll (Leo he said his name was), some girl that could only have been the voice called Piper and a blonde boy wearing a toga and a purple cloak that, judging by the Romans reactions, was obviously Jason Grace climbed down the ladder that led up to the Greek warship, things didn’t go exactly as planned.</p><p>Okay, yes, the Romans were a little shocked at seeing their missing praetor and yes everyone was suspicious of everyone else. That was to be expected. But the tension was so thick you could cut it with a butcher’s knife. Octavian looked murderous. And Terminus was keeping a <em>very</em> close watch on them despite what had gone down on the ship. Next to that Jason obviously didn’t like the idea of Percy taking his place as Praetor.</p><p>It was a rocky start, you have to admit, but after a lot of talk and explaining, the Greek representatives were finally believed. And when Percy looked into Annabeth’s grey eyes, and she into his, Percy suddenly remembered the gift that he had brought for her. He was going to give it to her as their first Valentine’s Day gift but current events (a.k.a. Hera/Juno) prevented that from happening as planned.</p><p>As soon as all the formal stuff was finished with, Percy instantly wrote his mother a letter. It took him a while, but he got there in the end. He told her what had happened to him and why and he asked her to give Mrs O’Leary that jeweller’s box he had in the top draw of his desk. Then, with an ‘I love you’, he put his note in a hellhound slobber-proof container and sent his hellhound on a delivery service.</p><p>That had all been during the morning and the good part of the afternoon. It was now late afternoon and there was still no sign of Mrs O’Leary. Percy was taking a quiet stroll with Annabeth as the sun began to set. And the only thing on his mind was ‘where was Mrs O’Leary with that gift’?</p><p>“ I know it’s nothing like Camp Half-Blood, but this place does have its own ups and downs.” Annabeth was saying, bringing Percy out of his thoughts. “ Okay, if you see past the fact that it’s basically a military camp for demigods.”</p><p>“ You’re right. But things will turn out in the end. You’ll see.” He replied with a small smile.</p><p>“ I guess.”</p><p>Silence passed between the two as the sun’s dying rays turned the hills surrounding Camp Jupiter to gold. The scene was breath-taking. And they just so happened to be sitting in one of the best spots for such a natural performance. So they were able to see how the trees gained their golden shadows and the shadow birds flew into them to settle themselves for the night. The crickets were beginning to chirp but their song was lost amongst the call of the restless birds up in the trees. And still there was no sign of Mrs O’Leary.</p><p>The scenery was so peaceful that all thought of the impending doom and missing son of Hades was driven from their minds. It was one of those moments that the both of them would cherish forever. Even if there was a truck sized shadow hound trotting tiredly towards them and otherwise scaring the still tense Romans into thinking it was an enemy. Thankfully the collar around its neck made them stop and think.</p><p>Quietly, and completely unaware of Mrs O’Leary making her way over to them, Annabeth laid her head on Percy’s shoulder, enjoying the peace before it was destroyed again. It was like something in the back of her head had said ‘enjoy it while you still can’. The thought honestly scared her, no matter how much she wanted to deny it. But a swift yet gentle peck on her forehead from Percy instantly blanked her mind for her.</p><p>She must have been tensing up slightly, too, because he whispered “ Don’t worry, Wise Girl. We’ll make it through this. If we can defeat Kronos, I’m sure we can put Gaea back to sleep. Besides, we have the guy who took down Mt Othrys with us… even if he does hate my guts at the moment.”</p><p>Annabeth said nothing. She knew he was right. They’ll get through this. And they’ll close Death’s doors while they were at it. But at that moment, she just seemed content in watching as the first stars shone above the couple looking up at them from the earth. However, only the large shape of Mrs O’Leary could break the spell the scenery seemed to hold over them.</p><p>“ ROOF!” the hellhound barked, clearly tired, as she dropped a rectangular box on Percy’s lap.</p><p>“ Mrs O’Leary! Good. Thanks girl. You deserve a rest. Go on girl.” Percy replied, picking up the box and failing at cleaning it.</p><p>“ Roof.” Mrs O’Leary replied, wagging her tail slightly before laying down where she was and falling asleep.</p><p>“ You could have gone to the stables, but there is good.”</p><p>Percy recognised the box, despite the amount of hellhound slobber covering it. It was the container that he had sent the letter to his mother in. Carefully he opened the box and found a rectangular jeweller’s box. It was a soft crimson brown colour with silver borders and a white band that separated the lid from the rest of the box. There was also a silver ribbon tied around it, ending in a bow. And thankfully the container had done its job. With a sheepish smile but soft eyes, he handed the rectangular box to Annabeth.</p><p>“ Percy?” She asked, seeking an explanation on the gift.</p><p>“ I was planning on giving this to you before… all this, kind of happened.” Percy replied, indicating the switch between himself and Jason Grace by Hera.</p><p>Cautiously, Annabeth untied the ribbon and opened the box. Resting inside it, on a bed of felt, was a silver necklace. But it was the pendant which caught her breath. A small silver owl with diamond studs for eyes glistened up at her. And with the dying light of the sun, it looked like the owl was actually winking at her. At the very sight of it, all of Annabeth’s worries seemed to fade and she looked up at Percy.</p><p>“ Happy belated Valentine’s Day, Wise Girl.” He whispered, taking the necklace from the box and latching it around her neck for her.</p><p>He made sure to peck her forehead as he sat back, a smile on his face. His reply came in the form of a long awaited kiss on the lips by his speechless girlfriend. They were like that for nearly a minute, only breaking apart to breathe. And that was when Annabeth took her chance to admire everything about that night.</p><p>“ Happy belated Valentine’s Day, Seaweed Brain.” She whispered back before resuming her moment of peace.</p><p>And all around them, the birds settled down for the night. The crickets chirped lazily up to the glistening stars as Zoe Nightshade, the huntress, smiled down on her friends’ happiness. Mrs O’Leary was off in hellhound dreamland, probably dreaming about deserted pizza parlours and hotdog stands with the way she kept licking her lips. The final rays of the sun danced across the hills. And nothing, at that moment in time, could even care about the fight with Gaea’s army that was really only just around the corner.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Time falls away,</em><br/>
But these small hours,<br/>
These little wonders still remain’</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Tratie: Kiss From A Rose</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This one-shot was inspired by the song 'Kiss From A Rose' by Seal.<br/>Pairing is Travis Stoll and Katie Gardner</p><p>There are a few OCs of mine present in this fic</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ever since Katie Gardner had come to camp, Travis had known that something was different about her. He didn’t know what, but he knew that something was different about her. The way her dark brown hair sat perfectly around her face and over her shoulder until it stopped in the middle of her back. The way her deep brown eyes shone, especially when she was in the sun or out in the strawberry fields. The scared look on her face when he first saw her that made him want to hold her and reassure her that everything was going to be okay. He just knew.</p><p>She was his brother’s age when he first saw her; ten. But he and Connor had been at camp for at least two years before she showed up. So, really, that made them her seniors. By two years, but still. Travis especially because he was a year older than her. And he and Connor knew who their father was, whereas she was still undetermined. Meaning that she was placed in the Hermes cabin until her godly parent claimed her.</p><p>Two weeks. That’s how long it took. Two weeks for Demeter to claim her… and for the fun to really begin.</p><p>At first they were small, friendly almost. Like drawing on her face while she was asleep; switching the label of her shampoo with a bottle of mayonnaise; hiding her gardening tools in plain sight so she thought she had just misplaced them. Yeah, she was a little annoyed with them. But they were just small pranks. And he couldn’t understand why he liked to choose the Demeter cabin a lot more now that she was there.</p><p>Then he found out that she was only a summer camper. He couldn’t understand it, but he felt upset about the fact that she was going to be leaving. The shine in his eyes dimmed at the news. So what did he do… or rather Connor do? They pranked the Apollo and Aphrodite cabins.</p><p>Later, on the second last day of camp for the summer campers, Travis heard a small laugh like tinkling wind chimes in a soft breeze. When he turned around, he found Katie laughing as she watched the Aphrodite campers fighting each other and the Apollo campers trying to figure out what was wrong with their arrows. That was when he decided that her difference from the other campers was a good difference. Who knew rubber arrows and golden mangoes could accomplish so much in one day?</p><p>Then, she was gone for the rest of the year. Travis found that not a day went by when something didn’t remind him about her. And he eventually found himself working on pranks to get her to laugh again, saving them for when she was back in the Demeter cabin when summer came around again. But no matter what he did, for some reason his world seemed to have dulled slightly without her there.</p><p>It was like that for three years. Travis Stoll had managed to hide his crush on Katie Gardner for three years. But then Connor started to notice how his brother was acting whenever Katie was around and whenever she wasn’t. He began teasing and pranking his own brother more often. And Travis didn’t know any other way to stop him but to fight back. Pretty soon Prank Wars had erupted everywhere the other campers looked. Nowhere was safe. And, when summer came along, Katie usually got it from both of them.</p><p>Finally the Prank Wars stopped when Travis was witness to a particularly nasty prank on Katie by Connor. That beautiful long hair of hers had been roughly cut to the top of her shoulders not to mention it had been dyed Aphrodite pink. And the blue flower hair clips that her father had given to her as a birthday present one year were now just clips. The flowers had been ripped off, leaving the poor girl in tears at the sight of them.</p><p>That was not how Travis liked to see her. In fact, he turned on his heels and marched down to the forest edge where he knew Connor was hiding. His face had hardened at the sight of the girl he had a crush on brought to tears by his brother’s cruel joke and, to be honest, he looked downright scary when he was angry. And that was saying something considering the Stolls very rarely got angry.</p><p>“ Connor!” He called once he got to the trees.</p><p>Connor never realised that his brother would be this angry with him. As soon as he had walked out from behind a particularly large tree, his brother decked him. Yeah, he was shocked at the attack. But at least he knew one thing, now. If Travis was this angry over what had happened to Katie Gardner, then he must really like her.</p><p>“ Why would you do something like that?”</p><p>“ This is a prank war. Nobody gets spared.” Connor replied, rubbing his jaw where his brother had hit him.</p><p>After a few more words, Travis walked off. Word of what had happened spread quickly enough and almost everyone realised what that meant. The Prank War was off. And, two days later after dinner, Katie had found a little package sitting on her pillow. Inside the package was a pair of hair clips with silver flowers and a note in Ancient Greek.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘I know they’re not the ones your dad gave you, </em>
</p><p>
  <em>but I hope you like them anyway.’</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Katie smiled, realising that she had a secret admirer somewhere in camp. But she had no idea who. And the fact that this person hadn’t even left some form of sign off told her that finding them was going to be difficult. She didn’t realise that all she had to do was look out her window to see Travis Stoll sitting on his cabin stairs watching her smile at the hair clips that he had bought for her, strangely proud that he hadn’t stolen them for once.</p><p>But things began to change when Travis and Connor became the new cabin leaders of the Hermes cabin. The summer after the big Prank War between the Stoll brothers, Travis barely left his cabin. He only left if it was absolutely necessary. For four years, now, he had had a crush on Katie Gardner. And already his heart felt like it was being torn in two. It was worse than having to deal with Tantalus.</p><p>She had become the new cabin leader for the Demeter cabin after the old one was forced to move to South America. There was no choice for either of them. The old counsellor wasn’t allowed to stay at camp full-time and Katie was the oldest in the cabin with the most beads. Not to mention she had been sent on a quest with some guy from the Apollo cabin about a week after last year’s Fourth of July celebrations.</p><p>And that was where his troubles started.</p><p>He didn’t realise what was going on until after Clarisse had left to go on her quest. He had been sneaking around with the supplies for his next ‘secret’ prank when he saw them. They were sitting on the beach, talking. It was Katie Gardner with the Apollo guy from that quest they had gone on together. At first he didn’t realise it was her… until he heard her laugh. Seeing them together broke him.</p><p>With a heavy sigh, Travis had to remove himself from the scene. How he managed to get back to the Hermes cabin, he did not know. All he knew was that once he got there, he dumped the supplies onto Connor’s bunk, climbed up to his own bunk and refused to get down. The wrenching of his heart made his eyes sting and his blood boil at the burning memories. He never noticed when Connor waltzed in, excited about the prank.</p><p>“ Alright! You got the stuff! Now, let’s go put Operation Baby Boom into…” Connor started, before noticing his brother not acting like his brother.</p><p>“ I’m pulling out for this one, Connor.” Travis muttered dejectedly.</p><p>“ What? You can’t!”</p><p>“ I’m not in the mood.”</p><p>“ Not in the…! This is so not like you, Travis.”</p><p>“ Leave me alone, Connor.”</p><p>“ No! I’m not going to take orders from a guy who is clearly not my brother. I’m going to find out where my brother really is.”</p><p>Travis turned on his side to face the wall of the cabin. Not even a minute later, he heard his brother leave, slamming the cabin door behind him.</p><p>Over the next couple of weeks, Travis found his brother going around and otherwise spying on Katie and, more importantly, the guy from Apollo. For some reason, though, Connor wouldn’t let him in what was going on. He only said one thing when Travis asked him. It turned out the guy’s name was Tyler. The Aphrodite campers were going insane over the whole triangle thing between their dream ‘Tratie’ and dream ‘Kaler’ and it was driving <em>him</em> insane. But what scared him most was when he saw Connor sneaking over to the Aphrodite cabin one day and overheard him talking about love letters and other love stuff.</p><p>But Connor’s plans didn’t go into action until after the summer was over and Katie had gone home. Travis found Connor writing love letters to Katie, which angered him for some reason. And then, when mail came for the all-rounders, he found his brother writing love letters to Tyler. That deeply disturbed him.</p><p>He was about to ask what was going on after the fifth letter arrived for Tyler one morning at breakfast when one of his younger brothers, Griffin Lowe, suddenly asked one of the most disturbing questions no eleven year old should ask. Needless to say, the entire Hermes table became the centre of attention as Travis yelled out in disgust. Griffin, who had been sitting across from Connor, then reached over the table and high-fived the younger Stoll as well as his best friend/brother, Ryan. That was when Travis discovered that, not only was the Aphrodite Cabin involved in this, but so was the rest of the Hermes Cabin.</p><p>After that, and for the rest of the day, whenever Travis went to ask his brother what he was doing with someone else’s love letters one of a series of events happened. First he would hear Griffin’s voice in his head repeating the question from breakfast. If he managed to get past that, he was doing well. If not, he paid a visit to the bathroom. After that he would either see Connor with Griffin and the memory would return, he would see Ryan with Connor and the memory would return, Connor somehow avoided the question, a Hermes camper would drag him away and distract him somehow… or an Aphrodite camper would drag him into their cabin to give him a ‘talking to’.</p><p>In other words, it was horrible and he never did get to even ask the question.</p><p>Finally summer came around. And with it came Katie. When Travis first saw her, he made a mental note not to cross her path for the rest of the day. She didn’t look too happy. Apparently, according to one of her sisters he overheard talking to her Athenian friend as he walked past, she had received some nasty letters from Tyler over the summer. Only one person came to mind. His brother. Connor Stoll.</p><p>“ What have you been doing Connor?” Travis called out when he saw his brother walk out of the Hermes Cabin after he had heard this.</p><p>He didn’t find the chance. He made it. Right in front of Tyler and Katie, too.</p><p>No one was happy after that. Katie stopped talking to all three boys, which completely ruined Travis. He began taking desperate measures. He returned to pranking. At first, she didn’t take notice. Then came the chocolate Easter bunnies. No one knew how he managed to get Easter Bunnies at that time of year, but the roof of the Demeter cabin was littered with them. It may not have had the same effect that Travis had hoped, but at least it proved that he and Katie were now back on some kind of verbal communication basis. Even if it was yelling.</p><p>But things began to get rough as the fight against Kronos drew closer. And when finally it did come, Katie was struck hard. Travis had been there when she was overwhelmed with monsters. He had gone to her aid and managed to get her back to Olympus to get the wound in her side healed up. That was when they found that Tyler had been killed. Then came the news of Silena. That news had been too much for Katie and he pulled her into him where she cried her heart out. He only left her again when Connor pulled him away to help defend the Empire State Building again.</p><p>“ We’re in the middle of a world threatening battle and I can’t believe I’m thinking about that. What is wrong with me?” Travis muttered half an hour after Percy had gone up to Olympus.</p><p>“ I don’t know. What is wrong with you?” Connor asked.</p><p>“ You’re my brother. That’s what’s wrong with me.”</p><p>“ Hey!”</p><p>“ It’s true.”</p><p>“ Okay, now. Tell Conny what’s wrong.” Connor said in concerned parent/doctor voice.</p><p>“ Aside from the fact that my brother’s demented?” Travis asked, looking at his brother like he was some sort of alien.</p><p>“ Yes, aside from the fact that your brother’s demented.”</p><p>“ Okay, well… I might as well say it now before I die.”</p><p>“ You’re not going to die. You are going to live so you can prank another day.” Connor interrupted.</p><p>“ I’m trying to tell you something here.” Travis sighed.</p><p>“ Sorry.”</p><p>“ Anyway. I’ve had a crush on Katie Gardner for eight years.”</p><p>“ Wow. That’s a long time to be crushing on someone.”</p><p>“ And I might never get to tell her that I love her.”</p><p>Connor looked over his brother’s shoulder and that familiar mischievous gleam returned to his eyes. Travis, however didn’t see it. He was too busy looking out the doors and judging the best ways to stay alive. But he was forced to look back at his brother when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The look on the younger Stoll’s face was not like him at all. But it seemed to say everything.</p><p>“ She knows.” Was all that was said before Connor rushed out into the fray.</p><p>It wasn’t until that year’s summer camp was nearly over that Travis finally understood what his brother had meant. Of all the pranking that he and Connor had done on the Demeter cabin, the one prank that won him Katie’s heart was one that Connor alone had pulled.</p><p>Both Travis and Katie had received letters saying to go to the Big House basement. Why? Neither of them knew. But they went…and were locked in. The only way to get out (according to the note that was locked in with them) was to confess their love to each other in the face. And when Travis looked at Katie, he noticed that she was wearing the silver flower hair clips that he had bought for her four years ago.</p><p>“ I see you’re wearing those hair clips. They suit you, you know Katie-Kat.” He said, a grin on his face, as he leaned against the wall.</p><p>“ Thank you.” Katie replied slowly, not trusting the older Stoll.</p><p>“ I’m sorry for what my brother did that day.”</p><p>“ Tha-wait, what?”</p><p>“ It was part of that Prank War we had. But I pulled out when he did that to you. After I gave him what for, though.”</p><p>“ What are you saying, Travis.”</p><p>“ I’d never hurt you. Not like that. Not in any way. I could never see you hurt. You mean too much for me to do something like that.”</p><p>“ Travis…why?”</p><p>“ Isn’t it obvious? I love you. I always have. Ever since I first met you.”</p><p>“ You always will, won’t you.”</p><p>“ I suppose so.”</p><p>“ The bunnies?”</p><p>“ You missed out on Easter, so I brought Easter to you.”</p><p>“ Travis Stoll, I did not miss out on Easter!”</p><p>“ But you liked it right?” Travis asked, standing straight and taking a step towards Katie.</p><p>“ How many times do I have to tell you, you do not go decorating the Demeter cabin roof with chocolate?”</p><p>“ So does that mean you liked it?”</p><p>“ Aahhggg…”</p><p>“ Well?”</p><p>“ …Yes. I thought… it was cute.”</p><p>“ It’s taken you three years to admit that, you know.”</p><p>“ You… you goof. I wouldn’t like the pranks if I didn’t like the prankster.” A blush crept on Katie’s face as she spoke.</p><p>“ What?” This time is was Travis’s turn to be confused.</p><p>For an answer, Katie closed the distance between her and Travis. Too stunned to move, Travis could only watch as she reached up to him. Only when her lips smacked against his did he realise what his answer was. But it was as he was only just beginning to enjoy it that she pulled away from him.</p><p>“ Is that answer enough for you?” Katie asked.</p><p>It took Travis a minute to try and recollect himself from cloud nine before he answered. “ Yeah.”</p><p>“ Good. I need to get ready for the trip home tomorrow.”</p><p>And with that, Katie turned on her heals and walked out of the Big House. Connor hadn’t really locked the door like the two thought. But it didn’t really matter because Travis was still somewhere up on cloud nine. That was as near as he was going to get to asking her to be his girlfriend. And, considering who he was, as near as a yes as he was going to get.</p><p>It took him another fifteen minutes just to get out of the basement. When he finally got back the cabins area, he was greeted by everyone. And in the lead was a surprised looking Katie Gardner and a smiling Connor Stoll. The Aphrodite cabin was going crazy over ‘Tratie’ to which Katie finally got annoyed and yelled at them for. And there were mutters of ‘Took them long enough’ going around too.</p><p>“ Well?” Connor asked him when he was close enough. “ Have I found my brother yet?”</p><p>“ Yeah.” Travis replied, still a little bit hyper from his first kiss.</p><p>“ And where was he?”</p><p>“ Receiving a kiss from a rose.”</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Jasper/Jayna: The Winner Takes It All</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapters pairing is Jasper/Jayna. To clear any confusion on what I meant by that, I tried to make a Jasper fic through the eyes of Reyna. This is what came of it.</p><p>The song for this chapter is 'The Winner Takes It All' by ABBA</p><p>I also apologise for anything that seems out of character. I never intend for something like that to happen if I'm not aiming for it as being the result.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Reyna watched them from a distance. She didn’t think it would be wise to interrupt them. No matter how much pain she was in whenever she saw him with <em>her.</em> But they looked happy together. How could she compete with that? Had he been like that with her? There were just so many questions that Reyna asked herself about what she meant to Jason before he had his memory wiped… and no time to ask.</p><p>She accepted that Jason was now with Piper. But that still didn’t mean that she couldn’t hurt on the inside. She’d never admit it, though. She had to be strong for the sake of the camp. She had to be confident that the Greeks were not as different as first thought, that they weren’t the enemy. She had to make sure that the two sides didn’t kill each other thus saving Gaea the trouble of doing it herself.</p><p>However that couldn’t stop the memories. When things got bad, he was there to make it right. He comforted her when she needed it… away from the eyes of the rest of the camp. When she felt like murdering Octavian, he was there to make sure that she didn’t… no matter how much that creepy legacy deserved it. But not once had they ever kissed.</p><p>Seeing him with Piper, on the other hand, made Reyna realise that they were better off together anyway. She couldn’t understand why, though. Maybe it was because she knew that the gods weren’t in her favour. Venus was playing a deadly game with her heart that was for sure. And, unfortunately, it meant that the loser had to watch the winner take it all.</p><p>Piper was just… perfect for Jason. She was strong and determined, but she was gentle as well. Not like other Venus kids at all. And… Jason had chosen her. And there was no competing with his choice. Or Venus’s for that matter. You shouldn’t challenge a god if you were expected to live and lead an entire camp.</p><p>With a faint sigh, Reyna returned to the paperwork in front of her. The amount of complaints from the Romans (namely, Octavian) about the Greeks meant that she had a lot to sort out. And that meant that she couldn’t get distracted with Jason’s relationship with Piper. She wanted to be done with the complaints before dinner so that she could continue trying to figure out who and why someone would kill a fellow centurion. And also make them… ahem, teach them a lesson. But Jason still managed to distract her.</p><p>At least once on every page, Jason’s name popped up. Sometimes her dyslexia would muck up and make her think that Jason’s name was there when it wasn’t. It was almost like he was haunting her. Then there were the Lares. None of them would shut up about how ‘Jason Grace was strutting around with a <em>Graecus</em>’ or just complain about the Greeks in general. They were almost as bad as Octavian. Which was saying something.</p><p>After about half an hour of trying to ignore the Lares and sort out the ‘<em>Graecus</em>’ complaints, she gave up and looked out the window again. Jason and Piper were still sitting under the tree, supposedly hiding from sight. They weren’t having much luck with that considering they were in perfect view of Reyna’s window. And apparently one of them had said something funny because both of them were laughing, their laughter carrying on through the window and into Reyna’s ears.</p><p>Then Piper leaned in to Jason and rested her head on his chest. Jason slowly began rubbing her back and it wasn’t until a few minutes later that Reyna realised that Piper was upset. The Praetor didn’t know what for, but she had a pretty good guess. Gaea. Either that or it was the fact that <em>she</em> was a Greek demigod and he was a Roman demigod. In other words, them being together was dangerous.</p><p>Reyna returned to her work with a sigh. Out of nearly one hundred complaints on the Greeks, most of them were from Octavian. That guy really needed to get a life. But she just about lost it when she read his final complaint notice. Only this one wasn’t a complaint. It suggested that since Jason was with Piper and Percy was going back with the rest of the Greeks, he would become praetor and somehow win her heart. Reyna’s face grew red with anger.</p><p>“ IN YOUR LIFE YOU MISERABLE, DISGUSTING LEGACY!” She screamed, unable to contain her anger any longer.</p><p>With that, she grabbed her dagger from the table in front of her and stormed out of the building. She had had enough of that boy. Rubbing the fact that Jason was with Piper in her face was the last straw. Unfortunately (or fortunately for Octavian) the slamming door had alerted Jason and Piper to Reyna’s sudden anger.</p><p>“ Reyna?” Jason called, looking up from muttering comforting words to Piper.</p><p>“ I swear! I am going to murder that <em>miser excusatio augur!</em>”</p><p>“ Okay, Reyna. Calm down. What exactly did he do this time?”</p><p>“ What he always does; wants to claim position as <em>praetor</em>.” Reyna didn’t think it was necessary to say the other thing that Octavian had written.</p><p>The problem with being around a daughter of Venus is that they can sense when something about love isn’t being said. This was no exception. And the guilty look on Piper’s face was proof enough. Jason, though, remained completely oblivious to that. But it was the sudden realisation of him knowing exactly what was going on that managed to somehow calm Reyna.</p><p>“ Okay. I’m going to go talk with him.” And before Reyna could say another word, Jason had already begun to leave.</p><p>“ Wait! You remember?” Reyna called, but he was already out of hearing range.</p><p>“ Yeah, he does. Not everything, just yet. But the majority.” Piper answered quietly for the son of Jupiter.</p><p>Reyna turned to face her. It was clear in Piper’s face that she felt ashamed of taking Jason from her. There were a few minutes of awkward silence between the two. Neither one wanted to bring up their past with Jason. And there seemed to be a million things buzzing through the daughter of Bellona’s mind. However, only one thing stood out. Venus was still playing her little torture game with her heart.</p><p>Suddenly, something dashed through Piper’s kaleidoscopic eyes. She was about to speak again when Reyna interrupted.</p><p>“ Maybe it’s best that he does not know exactly everything.” The Roman sighed.</p><p>“ What do you mean?” The Greek asked.</p><p>“ You two seem happy together. Keep it that way. It’s not every day that a Romeo and Juliet story has a happy ending.”</p><p>“ But what about…”</p><p>“ We were only friends. Nothing more.” But the slight strain in Reyna’s voice made Piper think otherwise.</p><p>“ Oh. Sorry.”</p><p>“ There is no need for apologies. You should know this, but love is just a game. Especially to your mother.”</p><p>“ I see. And in every game there is a winner and…”</p><p>“ A loser, yes.” Under her breath, Reyna added, “ And you just so happen to be the winner that takes it all.”</p><p>There was another awkward silence between the two girls before Reyna held out her hand.</p><p>“ Though I do hope that we could also become friends, Piper Mclean.”</p><p>Piper gave a small nod and shook Reyna’s hand.</p><p>“ I think that can work, Praetor Reyna.” She said with a small smile, the smile spreading to Reyna’s lips.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>miser excusatio aurgur = miserable excuse for an augur</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. WillxNyssa: Don't Cry</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Chapter pairing is Will and Nyssa starting out as friends and trying to grow into a relationship from there.<br/>Chapter song is 'Don't Cry' by Seal</p><p>There is one mention of swearing in this chapter</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The death of Beckendorf was hard on the entire camp, but none felt the sting more than Silena and the Hephaestus cabin. Burning his shroud was hard for everyone; even harder for some because he was a respected counsellor and friend. That, for some reason, made the sting even worse. And Will Solace, and the rest of the Apollo cabin, knew exactly how it felt for Beckendorf’s brothers and sisters, what with having lost their own leader and brother to The Battle of the Labyrinth only the year before.</p><p>Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Nyssa bow her head in the attempt to stop her free-falling tears. Just the sight of her, with her strong shield shattered by the news of her brother, brought tears to his own eyes. She looked so broken – not at all like her usual movie heroine self that he had seen her as before. This was not the way he wanted her, or any one of her brothers and sisters, to be like or remembered if something happened to them during the oncoming war. Before he knew what he was doing, Will found himself by Nyssa’s side.</p><p>“ Hey, hey, Nyssa. Look at me. Please. It’s all going to be okay. Beckendorf will always be a hero. He’s made it so that we’ll win this.” He said softly, comforting himself as much as the daughter of Hephaestus.</p><p>“ I hope you’re right, Solace.” Nyssa whispered through the knot in her throat.</p><p>“ Trust me. Kronos is a sick bastard. None of us here are going to let him get away with what his done. Especially for this.”</p><p>“ I guess you’re right.”</p><p>“ Of course I am.”</p><p>“ Don’t get cocky, Solace.”</p><p>Will gave Nyssa a small smile, noticing that her tears were no longer running down her cheeks, before turning to look around at the rest of the camp. The rest of the Hephaestus campers were trying to be strong for their fallen brother. Other campers were still finding it hard to believe that Beckendorf really was gone. Mrs O’Leary was whimpering (not so quietly considering her size) somewhere at the back of the crowd. Then there was Silena. The poor girl wouldn’t stop crying. At the time, Will didn’t notice how much people were caring more about how the daughter of Aphrodite was faring. It wasn’t until a couple of days later that he realised.</p><p>The day before the camp was due to go off and defend Olympus, Will walked around in his ‘free-time’ period, helping anyone who needed it get ready for the upcoming fight. Beckendorf’s death still weighed heavily over the camp but, once again, the war was the main focus on everyone’s minds. But he couldn’t help but notice that, as he walked around, talk of trying to help Silena through the ordeal seemed to be everywhere and he couldn’t help but wonder, what about the Hephaestus cabin?</p><p>As he pondered this, he realised that people seemed to be expecting the cabin in question to be comforting each other. There was not one single thought on the other’s minds about whether or not they needed comforting as well. He never realised that his feet were carrying him over to the forges where he was almost certain Nyssa would be until he heard the familiar clanging of tools on metal. And it wasn’t until he heard the faint grumbles around the far corner of the forges that he stopped and went to check it out.</p><p>What he found was a girl with dark brown hair covering her hands and eyes. Her skin was smudged with oil, grease, battle scars and accidents from the forge, and the fallen yet silent tears of anger. And it was obvious that she had not long left the forges on impulse forced on her by her anger. It took Will a few seconds to realise that it was his movie heroine sitting there, curled up in a ball and otherwise hating the world.</p><p>“ Nyssa?” He asked softly.</p><p>“ Go away, Solace.” Came the muffled growl as a reply.</p><p>“ What’s wrong?”</p><p>“ No one cares about us. That’s what’s wrong. They all care about Silena. Not us.”</p><p>“ That’s not true.”</p><p>“ Name one person, then.”</p><p>“ Okay.” Will thought for a minute before continuing. “ Well, he has blue eyes and blonde hair.”</p><p>“ That could be anyone, Solace.” Nyssa interrupted.</p><p>“ True. But this guy’s tall and kind of athletic… I guess.”</p><p>“ That still could be anyone… in fact it could even be anyone from the Apollo cabin.”</p><p>Will smiled slightly before adding the final piece of the puzzle. “ And he’s standing right here.”</p><p>Nyssa looked up at him, her eyes no longer as fierce and angry, as he sat down next to her. He was right… again. Not everyone in camp was being obsessive over how Silena Beauregard had lost her boyfriend. Here was proof. The only question was why hadn’t he shown up earlier? She didn’t realise she had voiced her question until Will answered.</p><p>“ I thought you may have wanted some time alone.” He said quietly.</p><p>“ And we’ve all been busy.” Nyssa replied, her words as gentle as his despite her obvious anger.</p><p>“ That too. But seriously…”</p><p>“ Thanks.”</p><p>“ It’s what friends do, Nyssa. They look out for each other. Now.” Gently, Will leaned closer to the daughter of Hephaestus and wiped the angry tears from her cheeks. “ No more tears?”</p><p>“ No more tears. Or sudden bursts of anger.” Nyssa added.</p><p>“ That’s good to hear. Come on.” Will then got up and extended his hand to Nyssa. “ We’ve got to make sure Kronos knows what’s coming for him for Beckendorf’s death. And we’ll make sure that he learns to fear you with the amount of anger that you’ve got bottled up right now.”</p><p>“ He won’t know what hit him.” Nyssa smirked, tempted at the thought.</p><p>With that, Nyssa took Will’s hand and together they walked back into the forges. And, like he had done with Nyssa moments before, Will made sure that every member of the Hephaestus cabin knew that they hadn’t been forgotten and that Beckendorf would be proud of what they were doing. He also brought it upon himself to make sure that they knew Kronos was a bastard for taking one of the best and that he was going to regret doing it.</p><p>And regret it he most certainly did when Percy led the demigods of Camp Half-Blood to victory and Olympus was saved. Beckendorf’s death had been avenged with the amazing works of his brothers and sisters. But when Will turned to them at the end of the battle, he found Nyssa off to one side and rubbing at her face furiously like she was trying to hide something. And at the sight of her, he began wondering if he was ever going to see her laugh again.</p><p>“ Don’t cry, Nyssa.” He said, going up to stand with her. “ You’ll ruin the perfect image.”</p><p>“ What perfect image?” Nyssa asked, looking at him like he had just grown a pair of horns despite the silver streaks down her face.</p><p>“ We won, didn’t we? Just like I said we would.”</p><p>“ But we lost so many.”</p><p>“ Yeah. Apollo lost another counsellor this year. But they didn’t die for nothing. No hero ever dies for nothing.”</p><p>Nyssa looked up at him and noticed the distant look in his eye, like he was convincing himself as much as, if not more than, her. He usually got that way when he was purposefully forgetting to add something in when he was talking about something. And she knew that there was no finding out what that something was until after it had been announced to the entire camp. She knew perfectly. Unless you wanted something going around camp like rapid fire, you had to try not to create rumours.</p><p>Will must have realised what was happening because he suddenly shook his head and gave the daughter of Hephaestus a small smile. It didn’t mean anything, really. It wasn’t the one that he specially reserved for his dates. But part of it seemed like it had been forced slightly, like he knew he had to keep up the smile around her despite what had happened.</p><p>“ And you’re the one who’s telling me not to cry.” Nyssa quietly mused.</p><p>“ I’m not crying.” Will protested. “ I’m just thinking.”</p><p>“ What about?”</p><p>“ That we need to get back to camp and that we need to hope that there won’t be another war after this.” With that, Will began to lead Nyssa to the elevator that led down to the Empire State Building.</p><p>“ You did know that you saying that just jinxed us.” Nyssa countered, not allowing him to take her arm like she was some kind of princess.</p><p>“ Then we pray to Lady Tyche and hope for the best.”</p><p>Said goddess merely smiled at the two as they passed her, knowing full well that that was not her way of doing things. Demigods, just like mortals, had to earn that kind of luck and not beg for it. But the two demigods noticed the smile and took it as a sign that she <em>may</em> help bring about that request. How wrong they were. Nyssa, though, seemed to remember something that Will had apparently forgotten.</p><p>“ Unfortunately, our semi-normal lives prevent luck from ever finding us. Sorry, Will, but you jinxed us.”</p><p>Will stared at her blankly for a few minutes as they waited for the elevator. Never had he actually heard her say his name to him before. Then again, the end of the war signalled the start of a whole lot of other things too. Maybe that was the start of a friendship forming between the two that Will had witnessed.</p><p>“ Semi-normal?” He had to ask. “ Unfortunately, the lives of a demigod can’t be classed even as that.”</p><p>“ I guess you’re right.” Nyssa sighed, realising what he said was true. “ One more thing.”</p><p>“ Yes?”</p><p>As quick as lightning, Nyssa then reached up and pecked the son of Apollo lightly on the cheek. “ Thanks. For everything. It made… all of us happy.”</p><p>And with that, Nyssa walked into the awaiting elevator, leaving a stunned and confused Will Solace to stare awkwardly at the now closing doors, not knowing what to think of what had just happened.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Frazel: She Believes In Me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This was my take on what I believed happened before the final battle between the Seven and Gaea's Army. Hope you enjoy.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Chapter pairing = Frank and Hazel<br/>Chapter songs = 'She Believes (In Me)' by Ronan Keating with a little 'Angel Of Mine' by Monica at the end</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Frank stood on the bow of the <em>Argo II</em>, looking out over the gathered army of the giants. It was still early in the morning (Apollo was still thinking about waking), but that didn’t seem to matter to anyone. As far as he knew, he was the only one who couldn’t get to sleep. The upcoming battle that was lurking behind the dawn was plaguing his mind and his dreams. And he knew that sleep deprivation was a serious flaw in any battle strategy. Not even the world’s greatest battle strategist could work if he was sleep deprived. Even children of Minerva didn’t work to their top standards if they were sleep deprived. That just proved how deadly it really was.</p><p>With a sigh, Frank turned back to face the door that lead to the sleeping quarters of the ship. Hopefully the others were resting up for the big battle the next day. Hopefully. But that probably wasn’t true due to the fact that there was a battle to determine who got claim over the world lurking just around the corner. Who could sleep when the thought of Mother Earth smothering you in hoards of blood-thirsty monsters that could kill you plagued your mind?</p><p>It was a scary thought, he had to admit, but that wouldn’t stop him from bringing down as many as he could before they could bring him down. He was just worried that, with the hero: monster ratio, he won’t make much of a difference to their ranks before they managed to bring him down. Again he turned to face the awaiting army, wondering how seven demigods, in fact seven teenagers, could even manage to win against Gaea and her army of monsters. It didn’t help that everything he thought about, every plan he made, usually ended up with them all dead… or at least one of the anyway. In the back of his mind he was listening to the Prophecy of Seven over and over again. He was that entranced in his own mind that he didn’t hear someone join him on deck until they were already beside him.</p><p>“ There’s so many of them.” a soft voice whispered, making Frank jump at the sudden break of silence.</p><p>It took him a minute to calm himself before he looked to his right. He could just make out long, curly golden-brown hair and dark skin against the still dark sky, but he knew exactly who was beside him. And she seemed to be dressed in preparation for the fight. all in all, despite current events, she looked stunning, especially with the sun just starting to peak across the horizon. It was with that image branding itself into his mind that an overpowering sense of protection for the one he loved washed over him… only strengthening as he turned to face the monster army once more.</p><p>“ Yeah. We’ll never get through them all. Every strategy I think of seems to end brutally.” He replied softly.</p><p>“ I’m sure you’re find a way. With you and Annabeth working on strategies all the time, I’m sure the two of you can figure something out. Don’t forget; you won the War Games for the Fifth Cohort back when Percy came to camp.” Hazel said, confidence lacing her words, as she placed a hand on Frank’s muscular arm.</p><p>“ I guess you’re right.”</p><p>“ I know I’m right, Frank Zhang. Now stop doubting yourself. We’ll make it out of this all right. we’re demigods.”</p><p>“ But even demigods die, Hazel.”</p><p>“ Please, don’t remind me.”</p><p>There was silence between the two for a few minutes before either one of them said anything. It wasn’t an awkward silence, but it wasn’t entirely peaceful either. The looming battle and enormous army before them probably didn’t help. But somehow the two managed to find some form of peace between each other. Maybe the fact that they may not see each other after this was what enforced the calm between the two, but whatever it was, it allowed them to appreciate the rising sun.</p><p>Finally, after a few minutes of said silence and calm rising sun, the early morning rays gave light to the battlefield. It seemed, to Frank and Hazel, that the only one who managed to get any sleep at all was the enemy. The entire camp was still sleeping (that is if monsters sleep). And, just like Hazel had said, a new battle plan had begun forming in Frank’s head. All they had to do was sneak into the camp before the monsters woke and slaughter as many as they could before they were discovered and destroyed. But a sigh broke through his lips when he realised he was thinking about the same outcome to all his previous plans. One, if not all, of them would end up dead.</p><p>“ Let me guess. You had something but you lost it?” Hazel asked softly, verbally breaking the silence.</p><p>“ You could say that.” Frank replied, looking from the army before them to the girl beside him.</p><p>“ Then what’s the problem?”</p><p>“ If we leave now, while they’re still asleep, we may stand a chance…but…”</p><p>“ But…?” Hazel urged.</p><p>The son of Mars looked down at his feet. “ We could all end up dead… just like in every other plan of mine.”</p><p>“ You really need to stop doubting yourself.”</p><p>“ I can’t help it!”</p><p>“ I think you can, Frank.” Silence fell between them again before she added, “ This is about your clumsiness, isn’t it?”</p><p>“ …Maybe.”</p><p>The daughter of Pluto gave a short sigh. “ You know, that clumsiness may be useful for this. Knock down a few traps that they manage to kill themselves on; throw one of Leo’s Greek fire bombs in one direction and blow up an entire platoon of enemies in another direction; set up a chain reaction of explosives and sit back and watch as they get blown to smithereens while those that manage to survive cower in fear. Like on some of those shows that Leo sometimes watched when he thinks no one’s around. It would be fun.”</p><p>“ That sure would be handing Gaea back her ass.” The son of Mars said, a small smile touching his lips as he thought about the scenarios.</p><p>“ Or if you really want to do some damage, just turn into something like a dragon and torch them. That could work, right?”</p><p>“ I guess I could do that. But isn’t this a bit, I don’t know, demonic of you?”</p><p>“ I just want to make sure Gaea doesn’t wake. She kidnapped my brother and manipulated both me and my mother. She took my life. She’s also changed my friends’ lives. I want to make sure that she knows not to mess with me or my friends.”</p><p>“ She won’t. I’ll make sure of that.”</p><p>“ That’s the Frank I know and love.”</p><p>As she finished her sentence, Frank turned to the daughter of Pluto in shock. He had never thought that she had those kinds of feeling towards him. But then again, it could just be the way of the saying and she only meant it in a friendly way. The shock and confusion must have shown on his face because Hazel’s cheeks began to glow and she looked away awkwardly, trying not to meet his eyes. And yet, both of them seemed to realise that the meaning of the last word was leaning towards more than just a friendship.</p><p>“ I mean…” Hazel began awkwardly.</p><p>“ I know what you mean.” Frank sighed, feeling his face heat up slightly himself.</p><p>“ You do?”</p><p>“ Yeah. You’ve worked you magic again.”</p><p>The blush across Hazel’s cheeks deepened as Frank’s face eased into a warm smile. At that moment, with the sun over their shoulders turning the land to gold, nothing could matter to him. Not even the awaiting hoard of blood thirsty monsters could deter him from his new, personal goal. Because he knew that he would do anything for the one he loved… and she believed he could do anything. Nothing was going to get in his way of protecting Hazel Levesque.</p><p>“ My magic?” the girl of his dreams asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.</p><p>“ You believe in me.” He replied softly.</p><p>“ Of course I do. And so do the others.”</p><p>“ And that’s reason enough for me.” Then he bent down and gently pressed his lips against hers. When he pulled away, he whispered into her ear, “ I love you, too.”</p><p>With that said, Frank took her hand and quietly led her back into the <em>Argo II</em> where their friends were waiting for them at breakfast.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Beckelena: Never Gone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>chapter pairing = Selena and Beckendorf<br/>Chapter song = 'Never Gone' by the Backstreet Boys</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Going back to her cabin after the funeral was probably one of the hardest things Silena could do. In fact, knowing that he was gone was hard to deal with. And the fact that she knew she had caused his death weighed heavily over her head like a storm cloud. But that little secret was hers and hers alone. The trek back to the cabin made her wonder what kind of girlfriend she really was to fall in love then leak sensitive information on an important mission which ended up costing her the life of the one she loved.</p><p>Drew had already taken the rest of the Aphrodite campers back before her, so that she had some time to herself. And that time to herself, though it made her think about what she had done to Charlie, made her think about the good times that she had had with him. The memories made her smile sadly to herself and the tears came fresh and fast to her eyes again. At least no one expected her to go to her next activity after such an ordeal, because as soon as she reached her cabin she made her way to her bunk and took down the last picture of her and Charlie.</p><p>It was from a week before Charlie had gone off to get Percy and blow up the <em>Princess Andromeda</em>. They had been riding the pegasi (Silena on a palomino mare named Teleri and Charlie on a bay stallion named Baron) and just enjoying the day. When they had landed to go have a picnic lunch on the beach, one of Silena’s younger sisters, Crystal Garcia, had stolen the moment with her camera. Once they had managed to convince Crystal to leave, they had an enjoyable picnic lunch together.</p><p>With a sigh, Silena held the photo close to her for a few minutes before placing it back in its place on her wall. She looked up at all her other photos, remembering each and every memory that came with them. There was Fourth of July photos, birthday photos, Halloween photos, Valentine’s Day photos, and everyday photos. And, for some strange reason, every smile on the many faces of Charles Beckendorf seemed to remind her that he was still there for her. And, for some strange reason, she believed that he was never gone.</p><p>She stayed like that up until dinner. By that time, it had been discovered that Percy had disappeared from camp... again. But she knew, somehow, that this time it meant that Camp Half-Blood was about to make their final stand. And that was when she silently promised herself and Charlie that she would make up what she had done by fighting with her friends and family for Camp Half-Blood… just like her love had done.</p><hr/><p>That night, she dreamed that she was riding her favourite palomino mare, Teleri, above the peaceful landscape that was Camp Half-Blood. There was no sound of demigods training with each other or pulling pranks and the climbing wall was completely still for once. The Sound sparkled with the light of the mid-afternoon sun. And it was peaceful enough that everyone would just be enjoying the day and relaxing.</p><p>But the peace was disturbed by the sound of metal being hammered into shape. The sound was coming from the forges. Curious about the disturbance in the peace, Silena gently spurred Teleri into making her way towards the forges. Before the mare had even landed, she was able to make out the black and brown coat of Baron. And she knew that the bay pegasus should still be in the stables, refusing to let any of the other campers, except Percy and herself, near him (she had been witness to a very painful kick aimed at a surprisingly innocent child of Hermes after news had reached the stables of Charles Beckendorf’s death and had had to calm the pegasus before taking the injured camper to the infirmary).</p><p>“ Thanks Teleri.” She said once the pegasus had landed and she had slid off her back. “ You’ve been a good girl.”</p><p>With a final pat, the palomino pegasus trotted up to the bay and the two nuzzled at each other. Then, in a flurry of wings, the two had flown off into the sky and beyond the clouds. That meant that Silena was left alone with her back still to the front of the forges. But something she hadn’t noticed was that the clatter of metal being forced into shape had become silence at the sound of her voice.</p><p>“ Silena?” A hoarse sounding voice called from behind her, making her turn suddenly.</p><p>Standing behind her, his bare skin covered in grease, oil, the occasional scratch and scars from previous battles, was the very boy from all the photos that hung on her wall. He was wearing one of the forges aprons, but that didn’t matter much to her. What did was that he was there. Before she could stop herself, she had run forward and leapt into his arms, burying her face into his dark coloured neck.</p><p>“ Charlie! Oh Charlie. Why… why did you have to do that? Why? I’ve lost you forever, now.” Silena cried.</p><p>“ That’s not true.” Beckendorf sighed.</p><p>“ You don’t understand. I never wanted this to happen. I never wanted you to die.” With a more softer tone she added. “ I did everything for you.”</p><p>“ I do understand, Silena. And that’s why I love you.”</p><p>“ but I… I had to. And now I’ve lost you. I should never have fallen for him.”</p><p>“ You haven’t lost me.” At this, Silena moved her head from his neck so that she was able to see into his deep brown eyes easily. “ I’m always with you. And I always will be with you… where it counts the most. I will never be gone.”</p><p>With that, the two fell silent, ready to enjoy the peace that had surrounded the rest of Camp Half-Blood. But even in a dream, Silena knew that she would never be able to hold her Charlie ever again. And the thought brought the tears back into her eyes. Especially when she realised that Charlie would not be there working in the forges when she woke up the next day. Gently, Beckendorf wiped the tears from her cheeks before sweeping his lips across hers.</p><p>“ Do you remember those feathers we tied together? The charm you made with a feather from Teleri and a feather from Baron that day your sister took a picture of us the day we had that picnic?” He whispered in her ear.</p><p>“ Yeah.” She replied, still trying to settle her tears.</p><p>“ Well, I found out that night that <em>my</em> sister, Emilee, and that Alana Ford girl from the Hermes cabin were with her. They know about the charm. So I left Emilee with a gift. Show her the charm. She’ll know what to do. I’m just sorry I couldn’t give it to you in person.”</p><p>“ I’ll love you all the same, no matter what.”</p><p>“ I love you, too. Remember the charm.”</p><p>Slowly, Charles Beckendorf began to fade into the forges around her. On the table behind him glittered something made of bronze, but as Silena took a step towards it to see what it was, the shadows moved to envelope it darkness. The shadows didn’t stop there, however. They also grabbed at the daughter of Aphrodite and began pulling her backwards away from the forges. Pretty soon, as Silena kept on struggling, the shadows had engulfed Camp Half-Blood to a cackling darkness and she had woken herself from the dream turned nightmare.</p><hr/><p>By mid-morning the next day, Silena found herself in front of the Hephaestus cabin. In her hand was a wooden triangle surrounding two feathers – a golden white feather crossed over a brown and black tipped feather. The quills of both feathers were tied to the sides of the triangle with gold ribbon and cord while the tips of their shafts were tied to the bottom of the triangle with an almost invisible strip of bronze from the forges. Bronze sheets also covered the corners of the triangle, making it look like a triangular photo frame.</p><p>Gently, she raised one hand from the charm and knocked against the large metal door. The sound that resonated from within seemed more like a gong being struck… but it sounded melancholic as it rang throughout the metallic building. Within a matter of minutes, the door was opened by a dejected looking Jake Mason.</p><p>“ Yeah, wha-” the son of Hephaestus cut himself off when he realised who was at his door. “ Oh, hey Silena. What’s up?” He didn’t need to ask how she was feeling… his entire cabin felt the same.</p><p>“ I need to see Emilee.” Silena replied quietly.</p><p>“ Emilee Hudson or Emily Vanguard?”</p><p>“ Whichever one is friends with Crystal Garcia and Alana Ford of Hermes.”</p><p>“ That would be Hudson. Hold on and I’ll go get her.”</p><p>With that, Jake disappeared back into the depths of his cabin. Not long after that, the sound of banging and yelling emerged from the other side of the door. It made Silena wonder what exactly was going on in the cabin. But after a few minutes, a girl who was clearly affected by dwarfism exited the cabin, closing the door behind her. Aside from the smudges on her arms and face and the redness of her chocolate-brown eyes, she seemed a little bit happier than her older brother.</p><p>“ You wanting to see me, Princess?” She said in a southern accent. Silena figured she must have looked a little bit more upset over being called a princess because the girl added. “ Sorry. I call everyone princess… unless they’re guy, then I call them prince. Can’t help it.”</p><p>“ Just call me Silena, then.” Silena replied with a sad smile.</p><p>“ Sure thing. Now, what can I do for ya?”</p><p>“ I had a dream about Charlie last night. He said that I needed to show you this.”</p><p>The older girl held out the charm that rested in her left hand and received a gasp of remembrance as a response. Not only that, the daughter of Hephaestus had grabbed her free wrist was dragging her through camp and towards the forges. Silena wasn’t sure if it was the demigod training or if Emilee was naturally like that, but this little person sure had speed on her side. In no time flat, the two of them were slowing down to go into the forges.</p><p>By the time they had actually stopped, they were standing in front of a set of lockers. Emilee rushed to the far right locker of the last row and worked furiously with the security that she had obviously placed on the thing. Why? Silena had no idea. But she didn’t question it. Instead she watched as the girl inserted a bronze key into the lock and pull out an object carefully wrapped in cloth. As if she were holding the most valuable thing in the whole world, Emilee handed Silena the gift.</p><p>“ I think he had this feeling that he wasn’t going to make it off that boat so he made me promise that I’d give this to you. I’m the only one who knows about it even though none of us were here when he was making it.” The daughter of Hephaestus said as Silena took the gift.</p><p>Carefully, the daughter of Aphrodite unwrapped the cloth to reveal a bronze, heart-shaped locket. Etched into the surface of the locket, in the centre of the heart, was the image of a dove carrying a small wrench in its beak. Slowly, Silena ran her fingers over the dove as new tears began lining her eyes. But then she noticed that the locket opened. When she further examined the locket, she found that one side of the locket’s interior housed a small image of her and Charlie sitting on Half-Blood Hill. But it was the words in the other half of the locket that finally made the tears fall from her eyes.</p><p>“ Thank you.” She choked out as she closed the locket and placed it around her neck.</p><p>As she and Emilee turned to leave the forges, she couldn’t help up think of the words that now hung around her neck. They were written in Greek, but she knew the reference well. It was part of the chorus to one of her favourite songs. But this time, as she heard them being sung in her head, she took the words in with a whole new meaning.</p><p> </p><p>‘<em>Never gone, never far<br/>In my heart is where you are.<br/>Always close, everyday<br/>Every step along the way.</em>’</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Thalico: Forbidden Love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I actually don't remember if I had inspiration from a song for this one-shot. All I know is that, when I was writing it, I had a bad case of writers block and it took me taking a trip to my brother's house to get it out of my head.</p><p>Chapter pairing: Thalia and Nico</p><p>warning for minor coarse language towards the end of this chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He gazed up into the bottom of the bunk on top of his, his thoughts drifting to forbidden things. He wondered about how his life had been since she showed up in it, what he had done to deserve being rescued by her. But nothing came to his mind in the form of the answers he wanted. All he knew was that his life was now ruined.</p><p>The wooden slates of the bunk were boring, yet they were interesting at the same time. He wondered why. Perhaps it was the almost black knots in the dark wood making intriguing patterns. Or maybe it was because the wood itself reminded him of her. He just didn’t know for sure what it was. So he forced his mind into thinking it was the first option.</p><p>Well… he thought it was the first option.</p><p>Slowly he raised his right hand and began tracing the knots in the wood above his head. Hopefully sleep would cloud his thoughts so that he didn’t have to think about her. And hopefully both Hypnos and Morpheus would let that sleep be a peaceful, dreamless sleep. But somehow he didn’t think he was entitled to something as precious as that. Finally, that sigh he had been waiting for decided to escape his lips.</p><p>“ Out of everyone I know, why did it have to be her?” He muttered softly to himself.</p><p>But, of course, the wood didn’t reply. Not that he didn’t believe that trees and shrubs had the ability to speak. It’s just, he would have been surprised if this particular cut of wood had suddenly grown a face and began talking to him. Slowly, his eyes began to droop, making the knots in the wood transform into other shapes. He recognised one as looking like his cousin’s sword. Another, for some reason, looked like a cat. A third just above his head looked like a flying pegasus. But the knot right in front of his face had gone from looking like a lion’s face to looking like the girl he was forbidden to love.</p><p>Curse his luck.</p><p>Everything was exactly how he saw her, right down to the punk style jacket and the spikey hair. He could even see the freckles that graced her face. Oh, great! Now he’s thinking about forbidden names that she could kill him for if she ever found out. Not that he wasn’t already going to be killed by someone. A chill ran down his spine at the thought of what the goddess could do with him. He decided not to think about it.</p><p>Unfortunately, the gods didn’t want him to have a peaceful rest that day. Almost immediately after he had decided that he wasn’t going to think about what the moon goddess could do to him, the knots in the wood began twisting within themselves. And they weren’t pretty sights, either. One depicted him being turned into a jackalope. Another had him being turned into a weird unicorn rabbit thing and then being shot because he was too dangerous. A third had him being turned into a basilisk and being used as a new form of training.</p><p>But the last was probably the most terrifying that he could possibly think of… her rejecting him when he finally managed to pluck up the courage and ask her out. He knew it was going to happen, anyway. He just didn’t <em>want</em> it to happen. He wanted to believe that he had some kind of chance even though he knew he didn’t.</p><p>A knock at his door penetrated his depressing thoughts. At first he wondered who is was, then he decided that he didn’t want to know. He was tempted to send one of his ever ready skeletons after the poor guy just so he could be left alone to brood over his fantasies. Of course, that never happened. He wondered what was wrong, but blamed it on his cursed luck and love life and went back to staring at the knots in the wood that still depicted various torture scenes. That just proved that he needed to get a life like everyone wanted him to do.</p><p>One thing was for sure, some of those scenes would do well in the Fields of Punishment.</p><p>“ Stupid skeleton.” He mumbled. “ Get your bones together and get rid of the intruder.”</p><p>He didn’t know if he was disappointed or not about the still non-responsive skeleton, but he stayed his eyes on the disturbing images before them. He wasn’t sure why, though. Those images were really making him worry about what the goddess was willing to do with him if she ever found out about his crush on one of her girls. The only thing he was glad about was that the knots in the wood weren’t showing him what the girl of his dreams could torture him with. But, of course, that changed, too. First there was a spear, then a pack of wolves, then a flock of falcons and finally the bolt of lightning.</p><p>The knock at his door sounded again, more urgent this time. And to top it off, someone had added their voice to it. He wanted them to just go away and leave him alone. Maybe if he concentrated hard enough, he would be able to resurrect a dog skeleton and give it a voice so it could scare them away and he could stay where he was. Or, if he really wanted to scare them, he could resurrect a big cat or dinosaur or something like that. He gave a sigh and grumbled something incoherent.</p><p>Slowly he let his mind wander back to the girl. He had given up trying to control the non-responsive skeleton and non-existent guard dog skeleton. He had even given up staring at the slightly disturbing images dancing around in the knots in the wood above his head. All he could focus on were the electric blue eyes, the spikey black hair, the freckles on the face and the punk aura that seemed to hang over her… and the silver circlet on her head that forbade him from ever properly loving her. That silver circlet was probably the most depressing thing about her, actually.</p><p><em>Well you could still lover her.</em> Said a voice in the back of his head.</p><p>“ It just means a very embarrassing and painful death when I do claim my love.” He murmured aloud.</p><p>He did not realised that his cabin had been broken into until it was too late.</p><p>“ Nico di Angelo! Get that sorry ass of yours out of that bed right now!” <em>Her</em> voice penetrated his thoughts easily, forcing his eyes open and his body to act of its own accord and do her bidding itself.</p><p>“ AHHH!” He screamed from his floor, followed shortly by, “ Thalia!”</p><p>“ Don’t start, Leo!” Someone threatened from outside the cabin door.</p><p>But it was too late. “ Annabeth!” The hyperactive son of Hephaestus exclaimed excitedly.</p><p>“ Percy!” The sure sound of Percy’s voice exclaimed at the end. Obviously he was feeling left out.</p><p>“ Kelp head.” Thalia sighed, shaking her head sadly.</p><p>“ What are you doing here?” Nico asked, now seriously regretting not being able to call forth that skeleton guard.</p><p>“ We came to remind you that there is a meeting on in the Big House that you have a right to be present at.” Annabeth said, now standing in the doorway.</p><p>“ Yeah. And we find you snoring your head off.” Thalia growled.</p><p>“ I don’t snore!” Nico protested.</p><p>It was a defence. He could feel the blood rushing to his face at the very thought that she had found out. That was one thing that he hadn’t wanted her to know about. How was he going to confront her now that she knew that he snored? This really was turning into the worst day of his life. He just prayed that it didn’t get worse.</p><p>“ No.” Thalia had turned to her favourite past time known as sarcasm. “ We’ve been standing at your door for fifteen minutes! We could hear you!”</p><p>“ Crap.”</p><p>Nico’s day had just gotten worse.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Gruniper: Beautiful As You</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The idea for this one-shot came from the scene in TLO when Juniper lunges herself at Grover after the Battle of Manhattan.</p><p>Chapter pairing = Grover and Juniper<br/>Chapter Song = Beautiful As You by All 4 One</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She was worried. Day in and day out, her worry kept growing. She made threats that she would kill him when she next saw him. She told the other nymphs that she would strangle him with her bare hands for the months of worry that he had put her through. And then when the war began, she thought that she was going to die with worry. There had been no way of knowing if he was alive or not before, but with the start of the war there was an even slimmer chance than before. Again her worried thoughts led her to want to ‘strangle’ him if she ever found out that he was alive. Alas, all that she said she would do quickly evaporated from her like Lord Apollo shining down on her leaves when she found out that he was alive and well.</p><p>“ Grover!” She screamed seconds before launching herself into a flying-tackle hug.</p><p>Said satyr spun her around a couple of times when he caught her (probably to steady himself a little too), before placing a quick kiss on her cheek and making sure her feet touched the ground once more. Then he led her down the path to the beach, the roar of the excited crowd dying down with each step further away the couple took.</p><p>The beach was calm that night, glistening in the shining stars above as they peaked slowly back into the world. The waves crashed gently against the shore. It was hard to believe that only a few hours before there had been a war raging. Hard to believe that where there was now peace, there used to be chaos. Slowly the two made their way through the break towards the forest.</p><p>“ Where have you been?” she asked, months of worry lacing each word.</p><p>Instantly he became uncomfortable. “ W-well, Juniper. I-I’ve been asleep.” He stuttered.</p><p>“ You’ve been asleep.”</p><p>Juniper didn’t mean to sound nasty. It was just all her worry finally finding a way out of her. And now that the excitement from the dining pavilion was over, that worry had returned with a vengeance. Unfortunately, that meant that Grover was getting the full force of the attack now. But somehow he senses her worry and inner turmoil and wrapped her hand in his. It was a small gesture, but a comforting one. And it instantly told her that everything was going to be okay.</p><p>“ I never meant to fall asleep.” He said gently. “ Morpheus had placed me under one of his sleeping spells. Percy woke me up before the battle and I’ve been helping ever since. I’m sorry I didn’t see you earlier.”</p><p>Juniper, however, wasn’t satisfied. She had been worried for months and all Grover had to say about it was ‘I’m sorry’. <em>Well guess what, buddy.</em> She thought to herself, tears brimming her eyes. <em>‘I’m sorry’ doesn’t cut it. </em>She was about to say something about that, too, when Grover stopped her.</p><p>“ Listen, Juniper.” He began. “ I know you’re probably hating me right now and planning very painful ways to kill me. But just look at the horizon and tell me what you see.”</p><p>The nymph was about to protest against it, explain that doing something like ignoring your worried to death girlfriend was something that wasn’t on the universal ‘to do’ list if a boyfriend wanted to keep that girlfriend. But the pleading look in the satyr’s deep brown eyes made her turn to the sight behind her. And what a sight it was. Pure magic made from Nature’s best. Apollo, though probably sore, must have been extremely happy that night. Or at least extremely relieved considering how many never made it home again.</p><p>The warm pink, dull orange and glimmering gold of the sunset was pure magic. There was no other way to describe it. And the way it shimmered on top of the ocean only added to the effect. It was one of the best sunsets she had seen. And the darkening surroundings merely seemed to frame that moment for just that, a moment… a small expanse of beauty somewhere between sun and stars that lasted only a moment each and every day. Slowly, Juniper turned back to Grover.</p><p>“ I see the sunset.” She said, awe coating her words as it always did when she watched the sun rise and fall every day. “ As magical as Apollo and Hecate always make it at this time of day.”</p><p>“ Do you want to know what I see?” Grover replied. With a nod of Juniper’s head, he continued. “ I see nothing but you. The sunset makes you more beautiful. And I admit that I made a mistake. I know I’m not perfect… but can you forgive me? Will you give me a second chance?”</p><p>“ You really see me that way?” Tears once more returned to Juniper’s eyes, though this time it was for a completely different reason.</p><p>“ Really, really.” A soft smile began to spread over Grover’s usually nervous features.</p><p>They were only two small words that he had heard multiple times from his cousin, but they were powerful. In fact, they were that powerful that Juniper leapt into his arms again, her tears finally spilling over. At that moment, one particular memory returned to Grover’s mind. It was a simple memory, stargazing with the very girl that was in his arms on their first official date. Artemis’s moon shone so brightly that a rainbow had surrounded it and there were shooting stars everywhere. That truly was a magical night.</p><p>“ To me, nothing will be as beautiful as you are right now and for always.” He whispered into her ear as the moon finally too her place in the skies.</p><p>“ And you will always be mine.” She replied through her own tears and his shirt.</p><p>“ Always?”</p><p>“ You’re my Lord of the Wild and nothing is going to change that.”</p><p>“ So I got my second chance?”</p><p>Juniper laughed, but she did manage a small ‘I love you’ as an answer to the satyr. And with that, just like everyone else that night, the couple celebrated the safe return of those still alive and the victory of the gods. But more importantly, they celebrated each other’s lone presence that the other had unknowingly been hungry for.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Tratie: What A Wonderful World</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Chapter pairing: Travis Stoll and Katie Gardner<br/>Chapter song: 'What A Wonderful World' by Louis Armstrong</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was the first day of camp. The sun was peering through the clouds after a night of summer rain and was encasing the entire valley in its magnificent rays. Birds whistled gaily in welcome to the summer campers as they made their way across the border. Peleus the dragon was purring softly, joining the birds in welcome. And the scent of rain was still hanging in the wind, making Katie Gardner stop on Half-Blood Hill and look down at the sight below her.</p><p>There were the cabins slowly filling up with campers, the strawberry fields waiting for her gentle hand, and the forest waving slightly in the breeze despite the protesting calls of its inhabitants. In the distance, the sound looked peaceful as it brushed against the beach. There was no two ways about it… this was a scene that was pure magic in itself.</p><p>With a smile on her face, Katie made her way down to the cabins to drop off her bags. Along the way, she met up with Percy and Annabeth who were busy talking with Chiron about getting Jason, Hazel and Frank away from Camp Jupiter. Despite the battle with the Roman demigods, those two, as well as Piper and Leo, had remained strong with the other three. At the time, no one knew how things were going to turn out between the two camps. But Annabeth had sorted things out just fine… that is after the whole trip to Tartarus thing (but that is a whole different story). Chiron and Percy both greeted her warmly, as they always did, but it was Annabeth who Katie found wrapped around her neck the only way a friend knew how.</p><p>After that meeting, Katie seemed to run into everyone. There was Nyssa trying to get Leo and Jake out some form of trouble with one of the mechanical bulls. In fact you could hear Nyssa yelling all the way from the Big House at Leo trying to get him to listen to reason and <em>not</em> torch the automaton. Drew, who had gotten surprisingly nicer since Piper took over the Aphrodite cabin, was working with some of her siblings in making sure Hera’s temple was as clean as it could possibly get. Clarisse was being Clarisse and heading down to the Arena with a couple of her newer siblings, no doubt giving them the Ares initiation ceremony. It was funny how the Ares cabin fought with their newer, younger siblings and the rest of the camp got to meet the toilet from the other end.</p><p>But what seemed to get Katie more was when she noticed Travis and Connor Stoll in the arts and craft area… alone. If that didn’t scream suspicious, she didn’t know what did. But she ignored it and continued on to her cabin where the rest of her siblings were waiting to greet her. She had heard from Miranda that they had gotten a new brother during the winter and she couldn’t wait to meet twelve year old Zachary Sawyer.  But, of course, it was the twins who were the first to greet her back to camp.</p><p>“ Katie!” Robyn and Fern Darling screamed for the entire cabin to hear as soon as she walked over the threshold.</p><p>“ Hey, guys.” Katie called, somehow managing to juggle two bags and hug little Melisa Clemens when she came running up to her. “ Have the flowers bloomed yet?”</p><p>“ Yes, yes, yes!” Melisa exclaimed excitedly. “ Come and see!”</p><p>What could Katie do when she had an excited seven year old practically jumping up and down in front of her, wanting to show her the flowers that the two of them had planted the year before? After putting her bags on her bunk, she allowed Melisa to drag her out the door again and over to where the two girls had made a small flowerbed along the side of the cabin. The flowerbed itself was parted in threes with white Cherokee roses, red roses and yellow daffodils. And the surprising thing about those flowers was that it was Travis who Melisa had gone to in order to get the bulbs. Now all three types of flowers were blooming like nothing before, and bringing an obvious smile to those who saw them.</p><p>“ Wow.” Was all Katie could say to the excited girl who now had a massive grin on her face.</p><p>Once Melisa had had enough of Katie looking at the flowers, the seven year old shooed her off to go sort out her things. Katie didn’t mind, though. She had got to see her little sister happy and that was all that counted. By the time she had finished unpacking, her brothers Thomas Patterson and Zachary Sawyer returned from the canoe lake.</p><p>Thomas had filed out now that he was sixteen. And his dark Australian Aboriginal skin and black hair seemed to shine in the sun. But it was his Australian accent which seemed to get the girls’ attention. There was more than one girl that Katie knew about who had him in their sights. Zachary, though, looked more like a child of Apollo than a child of Demeter. He had blue eyes and light blond hair. But there was something about his face that told Katie that he definite had a touch for phytology.</p><p>“ And that is how you dunk an Apollo and a Hermes team.” Thomas was saying.</p><p>“ What did you do this time?” Miranda asked, returning from a trip to the bathroom.</p><p>“ We, as in Zach and I, did nothing. It was Jasper and Ryan. They were being themselves and ended up in the canoe lake with their canoe upside down.”</p><p>“ And how did they get that way?”</p><p>“ Um… they were being themselves?”</p><p>“ I think the answer to that question is that <em>you</em> were being yourself, Tom.” Katie said.</p><p>“ Katie! Hey! Didn’t know you were back yet. Zachy, this is our summer cabin leader. Katie, Zachary. I’ll let you two get acquainted while I go see what Jasper and Ryan are up to.” With that change of subject, Thomas was out the door.</p><p>The rest of the day seemed to go by in a normal fashion. Miranda updated Katie on everything that had been happening during the school terms, and Thomas tried to avoid his siblings for the rest of the day. In fact, the last time Katie saw him before dinner, he was talking with Piper for some unknown reason. But when Miranda asked Katie if she had seen the Stoll brothers, Katie instantly began to get suspicious. If they were evading people, it was usually because they were planning another prank… and that was 99% of the time.</p><p>Of course, ever since then, Katie had been on her guard. Like every other year that she had arrived at camp for Summer Session, she had been the first victim of the Stolls’ prank year list. And she did not want this to be just like the other years. The problem was it was turning out to be exactly like every other year. Come dinner time, though, the Stolls were sitting harmlessly at their table and enjoying their meat pie slices that Thomas had made earlier that day; Travis sneaking glances at her whenever he thought that no one was looking.</p><p>But things turned peaceful again during dinner. Stories were traded amongst friends during dinner and campfire, as were photos, if it were possible. The Apollo cabin had decided to make that night a sort of talent night because there were quite a few campers missing from their benches, Thomas included. Katie quickly discovered why her brother was absent from his place at the Demeter bench when he walked out on stage wearing nothing but a loin cloth and a lot of paint (mostly white and yellow) and carrying a painted log.</p><p>“ Dude! Put some clothes on!” One of the Aphrodite boys called up to him.</p><p>“ This is traditional Australian Aboriginal attire, thank you very much. In fact, if my grandpa saw me like this he’d probably die of a heart attack because I would have finally embraced my heritage.” Thomas called back, surprisingly looking pleased with himself.</p><p>He then proceeded to give a detailed story about how the Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime began. Then he planted himself on the stage floor, brought the painted log (which he called a didgeridoo) to his lips and played. It turned out that the song he was playing was actually that same story that he had been telling. When asked by a daughter of Apollo if she could play it, he turned it down saying that ‘it was traditionally a man’s sacred instrument and no woman was ever allowed to play one’.</p><p>Miranda and Lou Ellen also did a combined talent, showing off each other’s talents as easily as making something magical happen from a bunch of flowers that had randomly appeared in Miranda’s hand even though she was holding a rock. Tyson, gods bless him, attempted to tell the story of how he and Percy had met. His storytelling was so cute that no one could help but smile at the end of it. Even Coach Hedge had entered the talent show, telling his version of what had happened during the Giant War. There were a lot of ‘Die’s and ‘Take that’s and Chuck Norris round house kicks. Piper and Leo had to drag him off the stage before he did something that resulted in someone going to the infirmary.</p><p>By the end of the night, Katie had completely forgotten that the Stolls would be out to prank her sometime before midnight (they had this annoying habit that they <em>had</em> to prank her the same day that she arrived at camp) and was thinking that the day had turned out quite normal considering they were in a camp for demigods. It could probably be considered wonderful, with how things had turned out. Feeling happy, she led her siblings back to the cabin so that they could get ready for bed.</p><p>“ I think it turned out pretty good.” Thomas said as they entered the cabin.</p><p>He was referring to the party crashers that were Zachary, Ryan and Jasper. Apparently it was planned to ‘steal’ Griffin’s talent time with random nonsense. The result was that the son of Hermes ended up pulling out his sabre and was chasing Ryan around the stage while Zachary and Jasper hid under their benches. It was one of the highlights of the night because, believe it or not, he had been trying to impress Andi Prince from Apollo.</p><p>“ Says you.” Zachary grumbled.</p><p>“ Hey, I was helping! Who do you think was making all that ruckus backstage?”</p><p>“ Why are you suddenly out to get Griffin Lowe?” Katyana asked as she watched Thomas start trying to write a letter to his grandfather back in Australia.</p><p>“ Because that’s what friends do.”</p><p>“ In other words, he pranked the lot of them-” Robyn started.</p><p>“ –And this is their pay back.” Fern finished.</p><p>“ You do realise that’s creepy the way you do that, right?” Zachary said after a few minutes.</p><p>“ You get used to it.” Miranda replied with a smile.</p><p>“ Okay, enough chitter-chatter. We’ve got a seven year old here that desperately needs to get some sleep.” Katie said, hurrying an already yawning Melisa into the bathroom to get ready for bed.</p><p>While her siblings were talking, she had gotten Melisa’s bed ready for her. Now all that was needed was the seven year old herself. Unfortunately, as Katie was getting her own bed ready, that was when the Stolls struck. You could practically hear them snickering all the way down the other end of the common green. What made her scream worse was that it was the one thing that neither she nor Miranda could stand. A snake. And there it was, coiled up under her covers. The result was that both Katie and Miranda found themselves cowering behind Thomas who just so happened to be on the top bunk furthest away from the snake.</p><p>“ Crikey, mates. What’s going on this time?” He asked, looking at the line that now graced his page.</p><p>For a reply, Katie just pointed at her bed.</p><p>“ It’s just a toy.” Zachary said, picking up the snake and waving it around by its tail.</p><p>“ Don’t do that!” Miranda hissed.</p><p>“ Katie.” Katyana said as soothingly as she could. “ You’ve been pranked.”</p><p>There they were. The three words that Katie had hoped she wouldn’t get to hear that day ever since she got out of the taxi. Suddenly, that wonderful day that Katie had been having turned out to be not so wonderful. And there were only two people who could have done something like that. Thomas and Miranda had just enough time to cover their ears before she blew.</p><p>“ STOLL!!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Beckelena: The Letter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Chapter pairing: Selena x Beckendorf<br/>Chapter song: 'Rest of My Life' by Blessid Union Of Souls</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Leo Valdez was lying on his bed wondering if he should try and get back to sleep or head down to Bunker 9 to work out Archimedes’ scrolls and risk getting discovered by the harpies. Instead he decided to do neither of those things. The buttons and gadgets of his brother’s bed (which was now his) were intriguing him once more despite having gone through them multiple times before going on the quest to lull Gaea back to sleep. And they seemed like the perfect things to get his mind off the nightmares from the Giant War.</p><p>The first thing he did was press every green button that he could find. By the end of that he had a ‘black market’ can of orange soft drink (which a metal arm had lazily handed to him from the already built in fridge), a small bowl of freshly made chocolate and caramel flavoured ‘black market’ popcorn (which made the entire cabin smell delicious), three of his own sketch books (which he had stored into the bed as soon as he was able), an entire set of pencils and pens (lead and coloured as well as red, black and blue), and a lone pair of pink headphones that looked suspiciously like Nyssa’s missing pair (which he immediately placed on his sister’s locker). The last thing that he wanted was to get caught with those headphones.</p><p>After a couple of large handfuls of the popcorn and the entire can of soft drink, the shaped buttons became Leo’s next victims. As he guessed, the only things that showed themselves were nut, bolts and cogs that needed a desperate clean. Oh, and the grease, oil and shammies cloths that were found in the compartment for the crescent shaped button.</p><p>The purple, yellow and blue buttons all came up empty handed, though Leo was sure that he had placed something or found something in one of those compartments sometime before the war. Hopefully Travis and Connor hadn’t figured out how to work the beds in the cabin otherwise that would be disastrous (not that him being in the cabin himself wasn’t very safe from time to time either).</p><p>But the one thing he had never pushed before was the big red button that was engraved with a dove. Something had always told him that it was top secret, private only, touch and you will be instantly vaporised. So he left it alone. But this time the son of Hephaestus was just too curious to resist. Don’t get him wrong. He did try at first. It was just that he didn’t have as much self-control over it this time. With a deep breath and praying that it was not his last, he pressed the red button.</p><p>Thankfully nothing blew up. There was no smoke (which was a good thing) and there were no sparks either, though the button was a little rusty from the lack of use since Hephaestus knew when. In fact, Leo had been worried for nothing. There was nothing dangerous about that particular red button at all. After a few minutes of unnecessary panic, a hidden compartment flipped open on the side of the headboard next to the stereo and revealed a slightly yellowed envelope that really looked to be a year or two old at max.</p><p>Gingerly, Leo removed the envelope from its compartment and examined his new find. In the top right-hand corner where a stamp would usually go was the hammer of Hephaestus in the mouth of one of Aphrodite’s doves. The name on the front was written in rough handwriting, but it clearly said ‘<em>Silena B. Aphrodite Cabin’</em>. With a nod of his head, he replaced it back in the compartment and pressed the red button to close it, reminding himself to take it Nico di Angelo and figure out how it was going to get to its recipient because he was pretty sure that this chic from Aphrodite cabin wasn’t part of the camp any longer. With that, he went to sleep already feeling like a mailman.</p><hr/><p>When morning came, the first thing Leo did was make sure that the envelope was removed from its secret compartment before even thinking about doing anything else. As he led the rest of his cabin down to the dining pavilion for breakfast, he caught eyes with Piper. In her hands was an envelope… and Leo got the sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t for Jason. In fact he was almost sure that, with the look he was getting from Piper, she didn’t think that the letter in his hand was for anyone special to him either.</p><p>All throughout breakfast, both Leo and Piper were visibly trying to figure out who the other’s letter belonged to. Either that or Leo was trying to stop himself from opening the letter and reading the private message inside. And the fact that Nico was watching the both of them curiously as if he already knew what they were planning just seemed to unnerve Leo. He was still a little wary about the son of Hades. But everyone’s thoughts were quickly confirmed when Piper and Leo met at Nico’s cabin after breakfast, letters in hand.</p><p>“ What’s up, guys?” Nico’s voice called from behind the two.</p><p>“ Um…” Piper began, not knowing how she was going to say something for once (according to Leo).</p><p>“ We’ve got some letters we need you to post.” Leo finished, taking pride in having actually practiced the night before in his sleep.</p><p>“ You do know that Hermes is the god of messengers, right?” the son of Hades asked.</p><p>“ Yeah, but these guys are kind of… dead.”</p><p>“ So? Hermes has safe passage through the underworld.”</p><p>“ We want to make sure that these guys get them.” Piper said, finally managing to turn her thoughts into words.</p><p>“ Who are they?”</p><p>“ Silena and Beckendorf.” The two visitors said in unison.</p><hr/><p>The days were quiet in Elysium. But that was probably because everyone was recovering from the parties from the nights before. Ever since the union of the Roman and Greek demigod camps, the deceased demigods born to Hermes, Dionysus, Apollo and whoever else was a party god always seemed to never want to stop partying. And the best thing (according to them) was that they had forever. So when the letter arrived on Silena’s doorstep (she was still trying to get a house with Charlie), she thought it was just another party invitation from Castor and his friends. That is until she recognised the handwriting on the front of the envelope.</p><p>But it was the seal on the corner of the envelope that stopped Silena from immediately ripping it open and reading. She and Charlie only used that seal while they were at camp… while they were alive. Someone must have sent it from camp… but who? And how long did it take them to find the letter? This time the daughter of Aphrodite calmed herself down and opened the letter with one graceful slip of her finger. The paper inside was smudged with oil on the edges, but the smudges seemed to give it a sort of reminder of a once happy, albeit dangerous, life. The smell of the Hephaestus cabin was still strong as well. And the words she read sent her into another world.</p><hr/><p>She and Beckendorf were sitting on the beach at Camp Half-Blood. It was before the destruction of the <em>Princess Andromeda</em>, but that say was looming fast. And the cabin leaders had only just discussed who was going to go blow up the ship. The quiet that surrounded the two was an uncomfortable one that made neither one of them speak about what was to come. There was, as with any demigod, a high chance that they would not come back from the mission. And it scared everyone.</p><p>“ Silena…” the son of Hephaestus began.</p><p>“ You don’t have to go, Charlie.” The daughter of Aphrodite said, tears already choking her voice.</p><p>“ No, Silena. I have to go. I’m the only one who can. The others won’t be able to handle the height as easily as anyone else.”</p><p>The others. The rest of the Hephaestus cabin. Silena had never seen them on the backs of a pegasi in all the time that she had been leading the pegasi flying lessons. And the only thing that came into mind as a reason was because of what had happened to their father when he was a baby. Beckendorf had been the strongest in getting on the back of Baron. And everyone knew that Baron was one of the more dominant stallions of the herd. But as Silena looked into her lover’s deep brown eyes, she noticed the determination in them and knew that there was going to be no way of changing his mind.</p><p>“ I’ll be fine, Silena. Percy and I will be in and out of there as quickly as we can.” He promised.</p><p>“ Nothing is ever that simple for us, Charlie.” She meant demigods in general when she said that.</p><p>“ Then we’ll make this one count.”</p><p>But something kept nagging at Silena and she began fearing for her boyfriend’s life. She wished that she didn’t have to do what she was doing. Then she might have been able to protect Charlie. But the fates obviously had other thoughts for the two love birds. Because only a few weeks later Beckendorf went off on the mission and never returned.</p><hr/><p> Now, staring at the letter she now knew was the last one that Charles Beckendorf had written while he was still alive, she couldn’t stop the tears from falling down her face. The words kept springing up at her, telling her that he loved her and that he had to go on the mission. And for each time that she saw those words in that letter, she found herself walking out of her house and towards the beach just down the road.</p><p>Like at Camp Half-Blood, the beach had become a sort of meeting point for the couples of Elysium. And it was there that Silena found her own boyfriend watching the waves lap calmly at the sand. What she didn’t expect was that in his hands was the last letter that she herself had written the night before the entire camp was due to set off for Manhattan. But what surprised her more was when Charlie stood up and wrapped his arms around her.</p><p>“ You didn’t have to do that, you know.” He whispered in her ear.</p><p>She knew he meant when she had been forced to become Luke’s spy in order to try and protect those that she loved, but she could only manage a small ‘I’m sorry’ as a reply.</p><p>“ It doesn’t matter now. What does it that you’re here with me. That’s all that matters.”</p><p>But there was something that Silena just had to tell him. Something that has never gotten old or never died since the very first time it was uttered. “ I love you.”</p><p>“ I know. Now, shh. We’ve got to figure out a way to get out of tonight’s party.”</p><p>“ Why? Did Castor send you another invite?”</p><p>“ I practically live with the guy.” Yet another reason why Silena and Beckendorf wanted to get their own house with each other. “ I’m not of any relation to the guy except ‘friend’ and I get stuck with him on the top floor apartment of the block that we’re in.”</p><p>“ You know, I’m amazed that you haven’t decked him yet.”</p><p>“ Tempting, but I could never do that.”</p><p>“ Sometimes you’re too sweet for your own good.”</p><p>“ Only when it comes to friends… and to you.”</p><p>Slowly, Beckendorf leaned down and brushed his lips over Silena’s, all thoughts of both letters gone from each other’s minds.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. ApolloxArtemis: Secrets Of The Twins</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is more of a sibling fic than a love pairing. It was also thought about during the solar eclipse in Australia on the morning of 14/11/2012.</p><p>Chapter characters: Apollo, Artemis and Hermes</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
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    <em>
      <span class="u">Hermes POV:</span>
    </em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <em>There are two moments in time where I have witnessed an amazing feat – at least when it comes to Artemis and Apollo, that is. The first time one of these moments happens is when Artemis is alone at night and thinks that no one else is around. She does have to ‘protect her dignity’, you know. Unfortunately for me, I had to go deliver a message to her on the same night that she had one of those moments. I did not expect Apollo to be there talking to her and otherwise comforting her over something I still don’t have a clue about. The result of that chance meeting was that I ended up in bed with a broken leg and a few stitches in my side and shoulder; the message left for Iris to help me send to the feisty moon goddess.</em>
</p><p><em>The second moment was more of a public matter and it was concerning Apollo. Now let me explain something here. When Apollo gets upset, my advice is to duck and cover. When he gets upset, he doesn’t just get upset. He gets angry… </em>really<em> angry. My belief is that he got that trait from Father (that’s Lord Zeus to you mortals). Another thing about Apollo is that he usually gets angry over something either Hera wants him to do or Father has said; more often than not, it’s Hera.</em></p><p>
  <em>And that was exactly the case when I walked into the Throne Room for that afternoon’s daily meeting. Now usually I’m one of the first there, but on this particular day I was late (blame Persephone). And, of course, I had entered during a full blown war… well, it was close to one anyway. Both Apollo and Hera were on their feet and yelling in each other’s faces. No one noticed me slip into my own throne, but then again, what was to be expected?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“ Damn it, woman! How many times do I have to tell you that you can’t control my life?!” Apollo yelled.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“ What did I miss?” I asked Dionysus.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Said god merely looked up from his wine magazine, though I had a sneaky suspicion that this time he wasn’t fantasising about the wine that he wasn’t allowed to have. Maybe that was because of the large image of the Joker blowing up some building. Who knew Dionysus liked Batman? I let my mind drift off the thought, though, when I noticed the glare that I was receiving. It was almost like he was contemplating using me as a test subject for some of those ideas that the Joker was probably giving him. A chill ran down my spine at the thought.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“ How can you miss anything when it’s the same thing every time?” He asked in a bored voice.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I rolled my eyes knowing all too well what the argument was about. Funny how something like that can tell you an awful lot of information. But, and I’ll be honest about this, something seemed different about this particular confrontation. Father looked particularly cheesed off that day and I head from Aeolus that he had ordered a rain forecast down in Australia. I also couldn’t help overhearing Athena muttering about some kind of mortal-scientific natural wonder occurring sometime soon (and, no, I wasn’t eavesdropping or anything like that. I was just passing through as I trudged back to my own bed after a really long day. George and Martha are witnesses… well Martha is, George was asleep).</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sure enough, my thoughts were confirmed when Aphrodite squealed in pleasure. “ That means that I can help organise the wedding and make sure that the bridal party is looking fantabulous!”</em>
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  <em>I wasn’t even sure that fantabulous was a word and Athena had her thinking face on again. I didn’t want to disturb her with something that she probably thought was trivial.</em>
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  <em>“ No you will not organise the wedding!” Hera roared, failing to hear the word ‘help’ in that sentence. Wisely, Aphrodite kept silent.</em>
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  <em>“ No one is going to be organising my wedding because I’m not going to have one!” Apollo roared back.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“ It will calm you down!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“ Just accept it.” Hephaestus sighed.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“ Like it did you any good!” Apollo growled in reply.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“ Apollo, calm down.” Artemis ordered gently.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“ I am calm!” </em>
</p><p>Yep. Definitely calm<em>. I thought to myself. I honestly didn’t want to get caught up in this.</em></p><p>
  <em>There were a few more choice words spoken from all three of them (them being Apollo, Artemis and Hera) until, finally, Hera hit another sensitive nerve… only this time it affected Artemis as well. And trust me when I say you don’t want Artemis as an enemy. Father, on the other hand, seemed to be getting even more worked up about the entire situation. I guess Hera’s blinding jealousy was getting on his nerves, too. Either way, I wanted to be out of there but something kept me in my seat.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>However this next attack on Hera’s part was a little too low. Even I knew that Artemis and Apollo’s mother was beautiful. But it just goes to show that you should never insult Leto in front of both of her children. Boy, were the colours flying then. Personally, my Drachmas were on Apollo and Artemis… though that may have been because I shared their distaste to our step-mother.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“ I should have banned all forms of land to your mother!” the slightly crazed (in my opinion) wife of Zeus bellowed, possibly forgetting that she basically already did. “ I should have sent tougher opponents than Python and Tityos.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And that is when Apollo lost it. You see, mention of Python and Tityos is still a kind of sore spot for him. It would be for me too, if I was punished for protecting my mother who just so happened to be one of the many lovers of my father. Quick as lightning, Apollo lunged. And that is when Artemis had to drag her brother from the Throne Room, using her own body to prevent him from lashing out. Needless to say that talk of marrying Apollo off was quickly cut short. And the mortals got their solar eclipse.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Now that you know these two little secrets that I had (unluckily) witnessed, I must leave again. I have two (slightly annoying) voices whispering in my ear about something which I hope is not important. I’ll just make a quick reminder to myself to <strong>PUBLISH AND SEND THAT PRANK BOOK TO MY CHILDREN! </strong>And then I’ll leave.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Signing off,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Hermes.</em>
</p><hr/><p>“ Hermes, what are you doing?” Apollo asked, leaning over the side of his throne to try and sneak a peek.</p><p>There was a sharp, echoing snap as Hermes quickly shut the book he was working in and sat on it, determined to hide it from view. The snakes on his caduceus shaped pen writhed in discomfort – not because one didn’t like the other touching him, but because the very book which Hermes was now sitting on was also personal to the both of them. Unfortunately for the three of them, the entire council had fallen silent on Apollo’s words.</p><p>“ Yes, Hermes. What <em>are</em> you doing?” Athena repeated, an obvious clip in her voice that clearly said that he was missing something important.</p><p>“ Nothing.” Hermes replied in a small voice.</p><p>“ Yes, well…” Athena started to say before Apollo interrupted her again.</p><p>“ It didn’t look like nothing.” The sun god protested.</p><p>“ Well, it was!” Hermes growled in reply.</p><p>Things could have only gotten worse when Aphrodite squealed, “ Oh, are you composing a romantic piece of love to that someone who has caught your eye?”</p><p>Everyone just looked at her for a good five minutes. Most were just dumbstruck. The rest (mainly Hermes) was plainly horrified. There really was no other way to describe it. And the only thing on Hermes mind was why Aphrodite always had to come to that sort of conclusion for just about everything. Quietly, he sent a reminder to Martha (knowing that George was bound to forget again like he did with the reminder about the prank book) telling him to make a note for this meeting for the book as well. Then he answered.</p><p>“ I was doing no such thing, Aphrodite.” He said.</p><p>“ Then what were you doing?” Apollo pestered.</p><p>“ Answer honestly. This is getting annoying.” Artemis warned.</p><p>Of course, Hermes being Hermes, he didn’t reply honestly. Instead, he teleported his book to the most secret secret compartment in his room and smiled. There was no way in Tartarus that he was going to let <em>anyone</em> find his ‘reflective book of secrets’.</p><p><em>Next time, though, </em>He thought to himself,<em> try not to have any spur of the moment memories.</em></p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Percabeth: Right Here Waiting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just a short one for you all.</p><p>Chapter Pairing: Percy x Annabeth<br/>Chapter Song: 'Right Here Waiting' by Richard Marx</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He was lost and he was alone.</p><p>Somewhere, out there, was the girl that seemed to haunt Percy’s dreams each night. Annabeth. Ask him anything about her and all he would be able to tell you was her name and that he was somehow connected to her. Just the thought of her kept him up at night, but not in a bad way. One thing Percy was sure about was that he would kill himself if it meant protecting her… he would dive into the depths of Tartarus if it meant saving her.</p><p>In fact there was a whole part of him that was missing and this Annabeth person was the key to finding out who he once was. This camp, Camp Jupiter, was good, but it was just too strict. Everyone here needed to learn to loosen up a little bit, especially that teddy bear murderer who seems to be glued to that statue of the king of the gods (one day he will avenge the death of his panda pillow pet).</p><p>Being in Camp Jupiter was almost draining the fun right out of him, if he still had any fun left after what that wolf drilled into him. No. That’s not right. Of course he still has fun inside of him. He’s Percy Jackson. He’s the son of… someone. And someone fun at that too. Maybe that Annabeth person would be able to remind him of who he is and what his life was missing. Before he knew it, Percy had fallen asleep.</p><p>She was in his dreams again. This time she was in a grey cabin and she was crying. There was another girl with her, one with brown hair. But he didn’t know who this girl was or what Annabeth was crying over. It was a shock to him, her crying, and he wanted to find out exactly what was wrong because something was telling him that Annabeth rarely cried and when she did, whatever she was crying about was really bad. Either that or something as bad as the world ending was going to be a result of her crying. In any case, the tears were interrupted slightly by a blond haired boy entering the cabin and the dream was ended.</p><p>Percy woke with a shock. Somewhere deep down he had a feeling that Annabeth was crying over him. Somehow he recognised the cabin as being a part of his true home. It was the Athen… Athe... Ath… Ath… the name was gone and so too was the memory.</p><p>The only thing that was left was Annabeth.</p><p>He was back where he had started. In frustration he screamed out and succeeded in waking up a few members of the Fifth Cohort. Others merely turned in their sleep. Those that were woken up grumbled at the disturbance for a few seconds, a minute at max. All except one.</p><p>“ Percy? Is everything okay?” Frank called, having been woken up himself.</p><p>“ Yeah.” Percy lied.</p><p>He could only thank the gods that it was still night-time and therefore still dark. The truth was, however, and it was evident in the way that he had spoken, everything was not alright. Frank gave a half asleep and half mumbled answer before his bunk creaked slightly as he got comfortable once more. That was another thing about Camp Jupiter, the crowds. Percy was almost certain that back at home he was never crowded to this extent. With a sigh, Percy turned onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, his mind empty save for three small yet extremely heavy thoughts.</p><p>He was lost and he was alone.</p><p>But one thing he did know was that he would spend forever, if he had to, waiting for Annabeth… the one person that would help him remember.</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. NicoxHazel: The Truth Behind Darkness</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is a sibling pairing between Nico and Hazel, the children of Hades/Pluto</p><p>The quote behind the making of this story was found on Pokefarm User Cattibrie's profile.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>When we first met Nico di Angelo, he was, to put it simply, a young and energetic boy oblivious to the world around him. But all that changed when he got news that his older sister had died during a quest to save the goddess Artemis. Now…</em>
</p><p>Nico was lying on the bed in the cabin that had once been Percy’s cabin aboard the Argo II. It was only after much discussion that the room was deemed worthy of Nico’s presence. In all honesty, the son of Hades had a feeling that the others were judging whether or not he was going to taint the place with his creepiness. The idea only made him feel sick.</p><p>It was midnight and they were on their way to Greece. The others were all asleep… or at least he thought. Everyone was still pretty shaken up about everything that had happened in the past day or so and they all feared what would happen in the future. Nico wasn’t going to be surprised if more than one of the demigods were lying awake in their beds, unable to sleep… just like him. But he doubted that their thoughts would be like his.</p><p>His thoughts were on what he had become on the outside… and what others could not see on the inside. To others, he was just a creepy little boy that was the son of the Lord of the Underworld and who could control the dead. Okay, he admitted. He was a little dark on the inside as well, but that darkness was mainly fuelled by the deaths of his mother and sister. It wasn’t even fuelled by the fact that his father was Hades.</p><p>No. Only his powers were fuelled by the fact that his was the Underworld Prince.</p><p>His dreams were another story. They were fuelled by the slow forming memories of his past innocence. Yeah, he would scold at them and wonder why he ever acted like that. But deep down, he treasured them. He treasured them so much because he knew that those were the times when people didn’t mind being around him. He was just another kid back then. Annoying, but there was nothing overly special about him.</p><p>So why was he so different now?</p><p>With a sigh, Nico rolled over and closed his eyes.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>When we first met Hazel Levesque, she was standing guard at the entrance of New Rome and having a confusing conversation in French with her to-be boyfriend. Back then, she was also having flash backs of her past and sprouting out all sorts of gems whenever she got nervous. However, things began to change when she realised the truth behind the relation of Leo and Sammy Valdez. Now… </em>
</p><p>Hazel stared up at the roof of her cabin. Not only could she not sleep for fear of what had happened to Percy and Annabeth, but the actions towards her brother also concerned her. Those two things were what kept her from sleeping that particular night. With a sigh, she rolled off her bed and went over to her door.</p><p>As quietly as she could, she edged the door open ever so slightly to make sure that no one was watching the hallway. From down the hall, she could hear Coach Hedge screaming in his sleep about blowing up Gaea when they got to Greece. Apparently he was just as bad in his dreams as he was while the sun was up. The good thing about the coach being asleep, though, was that Hazel wouldn’t get caught if she snuck out of her cabin.</p><p>But still she waited until all was silent before deciding to make her way down the hall. Before she knew it, her feet had led her into the mess hall. The scenes from Camp Half-Blood flashed before her, showing various activities happening around the camp. It was almost like the entire camp was having free time. Watching the camp, however, brought back images of her own short time at Camp Jupiter and her first life.</p><p>Everyone hated her. Everyone… was afraid of her. And very few of them actually bothered to get to know her for what she truly was. It wasn’t her fault that gems followed her trail. And it wasn’t her fault that her father was the God of the Underworld. No one can control who their parents are or what their life was turned into… least of all demigods.</p><p>Shaking her head from the thoughts, Hazel sat at her place at the table, still watching the walls, and ordered a glass of warm milk in the hopes of trying to get some form of rest that night. She would have had shrimp gumbo, but she figured that it wouldn’t have sat well in her stomach at that time of night. She did, however, nibble on a small honey cookie. Before she knew it, she had finished her midnight snack without her fears going away.</p><p>Another sigh managed to escape her lips as Hazel took one last look at Camp Half-Blood before she returned to her cabin and her bed. She still had to try to get some sleep that night. But it was as she closed her eyes that she prayed that both she and her brother were no longer feared amongst both people and demigods alike.</p><hr/><p>"The darkness is feared because it holds the unknown.</p><p>In truth, there is no such thing as darkness; only the failure to see. "</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chiron: Flowers On The Graves</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This has to be my favourite on-shot out of the Little Wonders series. When I wrote this, I wanted to make a tribute of sorts to all our favourite demigods. At first, I didn't know how I was going to do it, but then I got the idea to give Chiron a one-shot of his own. This is what came of a literal day's work. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.</p><p>chapter character: Chiron</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>With a sigh, he stared up at the wall before him. All of the great heroes of the past had found a way into his heart and those images that smiled back at him now were the only thing that reminded him of those times of old. Each image was carefully framed in a bronze frame specifically made in the arts and craft centre in the camp.</p><p>The first one he allowed his gaze to travel across was the image of two young men in business suits in the top left hand corner of the wall. The boy to the right of the black and white photo, Alabaster Greenway, was one of the top metal workers of his time. His partner, Jonathan McHynes, had been good with money. To this day, he was amazed at how a son of Hephaestus and a son of Hermes managed to bring the 1900’s into a new era.</p><p>Still scanning the wall, his eyes fell on a daughter of Poseidon. Mariah Stern had been one of the first women to enter the Olympic Games back in 1920 and she had won a gold medal. The unfortunate thing about Miss Stern was that not long after receiving her first and only medal, she disappeared. All that remained was the gold medal which Poseidon himself had presented to him.</p><p>In the photo next to Mariah Stern’s stood a small demigod child of Demeter. The young girl had been riding a magnificent pegasus from the stables at the time of the photograph. Annie would always have a place in his heart. And he would never forget the sweet things that she would do for him like grow him one of his old flowers from Ancient Greece that he was so fond of. If only he and the other campers had been fast enough to save her from that sea monster. She was only nine.</p><p>The glint of bronze in the light caught his attention and he turned to see the ‘Dynamic Duo’ Tina Martin and Harriet Stone dancing to the music of one of the sons of Apollo at that time. Both girls were daughters of Aphrodite and both had a passion for dancing. Unlike Mariah and Annie, these two girls blossomed in the outside world. He remembered receiving a letter one day in 1970 from Miss Martin stating that both she and Harriet had lived full lives, married and had children and that only the year before, Harriet had passed on at the ripe old age of 69 and that she felt she was soon to follow. Those two had had a happier life.</p><p>A smile dawned across his wizened face as he remembered each and every demigod who had found a place on his wall. He remembered the stories well. It was like each one of those images was just a single page in an ever growing book that he was reading. Then, another sigh escaped him when he noticed an image of two almost identical boys being dragged by the ear by a very angry daughter of Demeter.</p><p>Travis and Connor Stoll, the other Dynamic Duo. No one had been able to prank as much as those two boys had. Not even their sibling predecessors would have been able to match their pranking abilities. He was almost certain that those two boys were able to rival their father. In all honesty, if they were given the quest to steal Apollo’s cows, then they probably would have done it… maybe even better than Hermes himself. Thank the gods for Katie Gardner or else those two brothers and sons of Hermes would have gotten into a lot more mischief than what they were able to handle.</p><p>Right next to them were Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson, daughter of Athena and son of Poseidon. Those two powerful demigods had somehow been able to forget the grudge that their godly parents had waged for millennia and found love together, ending the second Olympian war and braving the depths of Tartarus together.</p><p>But it was the next two images that found a place on his wall, not only because of the demigods within them, but also because of the rarity of the images themselves. The first was of three demigods. One was Percy Jackson. The other two, however, were a struggle to get an image of: Nico di Angelo and Thalia Grace. Neither of the two older demigods (as Percy had been born last out of the three) looked pleased either, and it was Percy who was keeping the both of them in the photo. It was the only photograph of its kind – all three children of the Big Three.</p><p>The other wasn’t a photograph at all, but rather a brilliantly drawn sketch of seven demigods done by Will Solace himself. Percy and Annabeth were clearly visibly in the drawing with Percy smack bang in the middle. To Percy’s left were Jason Grace, Frank Zhang and Hazel Levesque; all Roman demigods. And to Percy’s right were Annabeth Chase, Piper Mclean and Leo Valdez; all Greek demigods.</p><p>As with the three children of the Big Three, this was the only one of its kind. Those seven demigods were the very demigods fated to complete the second great prophecy. And complete it they did. The Roman demigods, fleeing from a life which would not take them back, had found a new home in Camp Half-Blood for the remainder of their training.</p><p>But all that happened long ago. There was no more Percy Jackson. No more Annabeth Chase. No more Travis or Connor Stoll or Katie Gardner. There was no more Tina Martin or Harriet Stone or Mariah Stern or little Annie. No more Will Solace or Frank Zhang. No more Hazel Levesque or Nico di Angelo. There was no more Jason or Thalia Grace, Piper Mclean or Leo Valdez. There was no more Jonathan McHynes or Alabaster Greenway. No. Almost none of the great heroes that were now on his wall and forever in his heart were alive anymore, save for the more recent additions.</p><p>His memories were interrupted by a knock at his door.</p><p>“ Come in.” He called morosely.</p><p>“ Chiron. Is everything okay?” The daughter of Demeter asked, concern deep in her voice.</p><p>“ Yes, child.”</p><p>“ I have the photo you wanted, the one of Luke and Daniel. I’ve even framed it for you with little carvings of music notes in the celestial bronze.”</p><p>“ Thank you. Thank you very much.”</p><p>“ It’s the least I could do. You took me in, gave me a home. I don’t think I’ll be able to pay you enough for everything you have done for me and the other demigods.”</p><p>Chiron thought for a minute, letting the daughter of Demeter’s words sink into his mind, as his eyes returned once more to the photo of little Annie. “ There is one thing you can do for me, Tracy. Could you please grow me an <em>amarantos</em> flower or everlasting flower?”</p><p>With a small nod of her head, the girl complied with her request and, right in her hand, she grew from a small pouch of dirt she carried with her the flower that Chiron had ordered. Slightly confused, she handed both the framed photo and the small, yellow flower to the camp activities director.</p><p>“ Thank you, Tracy. You may go now.”</p><p>A small smile crossed Tracy’s face as she left the Big House. But she was not to know that shortly after her leave, Chiron wheeled himself out to the veranda and returned to his natural centaur self, the everlasting flower in his hand. Nor was she to know that just beyond the strawberry fields of Camp Half-Blood was a small mound of flowers, identical to the one that she had just been asked to grow. As gently as he could, Chiron planted the new addition alongside its brethren.</p><p>“ Another <em>amarantos</em> for another year. And they keep growing. I hope that someday soon we will get to meet again, my young friends. You were my best students… and my not-so best students. You were loved and forever shall be loved. And you are missed. But you have lived well and learned well.” He sighed as the sun began to set on another day in Camp Half-Blood in the year 2193.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. WillxNyssa: Always Be My Hero</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>For this one shot, I made up a song. It took me about a day to figure it out, so I hope you like it. </p><p>chapter pairing: Will Solace x Nyssa</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Will Solace lay on his bed, throwing toothpick sized twigs at the makeshift dartboard he had pinned on the wall of his cabin. It was the day after most of the campers had gone home, but it was completely <em>boring</em>. And everyone kept on saying that there would be a heap of new campers coming. With a sigh, he scored a perfect bullseye on the last of his twigs before getting up and going down the stairs to the music room of the Apollo cabin.</p><p>The music room was filled with musical instruments of pretty much every kind. Okay, so it wasn’t <em>every</em> kind of musical instrument the world had seen, but they were the essentials; massive drum kit – top right hand corner of the room; multiple types of guitars – along the west wall; grand piano – in the middle of the room; portable keyboard – next to the piano; massive harp – not too far from the keyboard and the piano; wind instruments – over in cases on the north wall; brass instruments – over on the east wall, also in cases; about twenty lyres – over on the wall with the guitars; every other instrument in the room (including a set of bagpipes) – along the south wall.</p><p>Will took an acoustic guitar from the wall and went over to the chairs that shared the middle of the room with the bigger instruments. After a few strums, however, he leaned his head back on the sofa he had chosen and stared up at the ceiling. Ever since Nyssa had kissed him on the cheek in Olympus, he hadn’t been able to think straight. And it was visibly affecting his way of life. For the past two weeks, he hadn’t been able to do anything right.</p><p>Thinking back, he made some pretty stupid mistakes. The night after the final battle, during the camp’s sing-a-long, he wasn’t able to produce a single sound. His whole leading the Apollo Cabin was practically in shambles, but then again the whole cabin was in shambles (he blamed himself). He very nearly killed Clarisse during archery practice one day (needless to say, he ended up in the infirmary). His medic skills had gone from cool to drool. And, most importantly, he’d disappear whenever Nyssa was involved. To be completely honest, he should have been in the forges with the Hephaestus Cabin at that moment.</p><p>Finally, he realised why his brain was all mushed up. All it took was about the entire time between the end of the war and that moment. He couldn’t believe it. It was Nyssa. She was making his brain turn into mush. He didn’t know how or why, but he knew it was her.</p><p>Trust a girl to ruin a guy’s life.</p><p>Another sigh managed to escape Will’s lips as he looked down at the guitar he still held. It was his favourite; made out of wood and celestial bronze. Lee had given it to him on his birthday three years ago. The memory instantly brought to mind the very words that old cabin leader had spoken when he had handed the gift to his younger brother.</p><p><em>“ Hopefully, Will, this will help you serenade the girl of your dreams.”</em> Lee had said.</p><p>Now, Will was praying his brother had been right. Before he knew it, his fingers had begun to strum the strings once more. But this time, it was with a rhythm unlike any he had heard since then. The next thing he knew, words were popping into his head from every direction.</p><p>
  <em>“ I close my eyes to the dark of night</em>
</p><p><em>As thunder crashes…</em> no<em>… as thunder drums…”</em></p><hr/><p>Nyssa sighed heavily before making up her mind and heading over to the door of her cabin. It was clear to everyone else that she was worried, but no one else knew why. All she knew was that Will Solace had been avoiding her since the final battle… and she wanted to know why.</p><p>“ Where are you going?” Jake Mason called from behind her.</p><p>“ Out.” She replied curtly. “ It is free time, after all.”</p><p>With that said, she closed the door and crossed the green to the Apollo Cabin. She was going to find out what the son of Apollo was up to if it was the last thing she ever did. Austin opened the door only to spray her in the face with a mix of party streamers and silly string.</p><p>“ Oh, gods. I’m so sorry. I thought you were Kayla. We had the steps rigged up and… I’m so, so sorry.” He apologised, offering her a towel that one of his siblings had hurried to hand him.</p><p>“ It’s fine. Where’s Will?” Nyssa replied, taking the offered towel.</p><p>“ He’s down in the music room. I think he’s finally got his grove back.”</p><p>“ Can you take me to him? We need to talk.”</p><p>“ Sure. Come in.”</p><p>Austin led Nyssa to the back of the cabin and down the stairs. On the way, she couldn’t help but notice the blank piece of paper still tacked to the wall by what looked like fifty toothpick sized twigs. And the way that it was lined up to Will’s bunk made her wonder if that blank piece of paper was a replica of his mind. But it was as she came down the stairs that she was forced to stop, the sound of Will’s well known singing voice echoing through the room.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“ I close my eyes to the dark of night,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>As thunder drums on and the rain sings soft,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But I don't expect her to be there,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>No, I don't expect her to be my light.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“ She stood with her hand outstretched,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Not an ounce of darkness touching her.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It was a curious thing to see,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But it was like the dark had met its match.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“ Her skin as warm as hot cocoa,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her hair as dark as chocolate.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her eyes burning with a passion,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>That I'll never know.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“ I don't know how she does it,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But it's as true as my arrow.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The way she stood in front of me, </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I knew, </em>
</p><p>
  <em>She will always be my hero.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“ People turn from the sight of her,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>fearing the trouble she may cause.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But not I, no, not I.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And I've never been so sure.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“ The way she smiles is like the sun, </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Burning in the sky and in my heart.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The way she works accentuates </em>
</p><p>
  <em>my thoughts of she and I as one.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“ But I doubt.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“ Her skin as warm as hot cocoa,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her hair as dark as chocolate.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her eyes burning with a passion,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>That I'll never know.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“ I don't know how she does it,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But it's as true as my arrow.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The way she stood in front of me, </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I knew, </em>
</p><p>
  <em>She will always be my hero.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“ Now I sit with shambled brain,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Thinking of what happened.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>To lose my world in one fell swoop,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Created a storm inside my head.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“ Back to the thunderous drums I go,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Back to the forever darkness.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But then her light returns to me</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And that light shines through the rain.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“ And finally I hear what I know.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“ Her skin as warm as hot cocoa,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her hair as dark as chocolate.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her eyes burning with a passion,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>That I'll never know.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“ I don't know how she does it,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But it's as true as my arrow.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The way she stands in front of me, </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I know, </em>
</p><p>
  <em>She will always be my hero.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“ I don't know how she does it,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But it's as true as my arrow.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The way she stands in front of me, </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I know, </em>
</p><p>
  <em>She will always, always be my hero.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Austin looked from Nyssa to the still oblivious Will. He had a feeling that he knew exactly what the song was about… <em>who</em> the song was about. But he also knew when something was about to turn awkward and fast. As gently as he could, he placed his hand on Nyssa’s shoulder in an attempt to get her to realise that it was best to leave Will for a little while longer. Unfortunately, his message went unheard or else misinterpreted. With a shrug of her shoulder, the daughter of Hephaestus rushed back up the stairs and out of the cabin.</p><p>“ Nyssa, wait!” Austin called. “ I don’t think… Nyssa!”</p><p>“ Nice going, idiot!” one of his sisters growled as he ran up the stairs.</p><p>Will, however, instantly froze, his back ridged. He didn’t know how, but he was sure Nyssa had heard every word of his new song. And he was pretty sure that she misunderstood, hence the yelling that was going on upstairs. With a few deep breaths, he somehow managed to place the guitar on the sofa beside him.</p><p>That’s when he started to thaw out. First, his hand started shaking. His breath began heavy shortly after as he felt the blood rush up to his face. Slowly, he stood from where he sat and clenched his fists. But his anger wasn’t quick to simmer down. In a fit of rage, he had stormed up the stairs.</p><p>“ You are so dead, Austin!” He roared, his voice somehow echoing through the camp.</p><p>All that could be heard afterwards was the faint ‘Eep’ coming from the younger son of Apollo.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Liper: The Flame Of Love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Chapter Pairing: Leo x Piper</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He always knew something like this would happen. It always happened. Especially to him. Before Jason showed up, it was just him and Piper, no one else. With Piper, he actually felt like he had found someone to belong with. He even dreamed about the future possibilities with Piper; they would grow up together, fall in love, get married, have kids together and basically spend the rest of their lives together in a nice home somewhere in Texas or wherever she wanted to live. Her choice was okay with him.</p><p>But, like everything else in his life, Hera had to interfere. She had to implant false memories of Jason Grace into his head and slap him right in the middle of his and Piper’s friendship. Sometimes, at night, he swore he could hear his psycho babysitter telling him that he wasn’t meant for Piper, that he was needed, not for love, but for something else.</p><p>“ It is not your destiny, my hero.” She would always say. “ The Fates have other plans for you.”</p><p>Usually, they came in the form of dreams and he would wake up drenched in sweat. Sometimes he would wake up to the smell or cry of fire. But there were the odd times where he would be awake and Hera would whisper in his ear and send a chill down his spine. And, whenever he looked behind him to have a go at the Queen of Olympus for scaring him like she was, he would always find thin air and worry his friends and siblings in the process.</p><p>Then he’d look over to Piper and Jason and he knew that Hera spoke the truth.</p><p>Okay, he admit, he had a bit of a crush on the daughter of Aphrodite. But what could he say? She was, quite possibly, the only one who had been kind to him and was able to befriend him. Or was that last part the other way around? Either way, before Jason showed up, there was a spark somewhere deep down inside him that Piper had lit for him. But that flame was lit a long, long time ago. Now, as he stood in the kitchen doorway of the Argo II, watching as Piper and Jason made out on the lounge in front of him completely unaware that he was there, he knew that that flame was now just a pile of ash.</p><p>“ The Fates have other plans for you, my hero.” Tia Callida’s voice whispered behind him once more, causing him to stiffen. He had thought that had stopped when he and the others had set sail for New Rome. “ And those plans will soon be discovered. Prepare yourself.”</p><p><em>Like I haven’t already done that.</em> He scolded himself before making his way up to the helm as quietly as he could so that he didn’t disturb the couple.</p><p>He was supposed to be asleep; though Piper and Jason were supposed to be asleep too. Now that they had Percy and Annabeth back and Festus was alive once more, the patrol schedule had to be changed - while the others took shifts in pairs (morning, noon and night), Leo and Festus took day and night shifts. What that meant that Leo was able to spend the nights asleep while Festus went on auto-pilot. Unfortunately, that also meant more torments in the form of dreams; and no that didn’t include those about Calypso. If anything, they were mainly about the upcoming battle and Hera’s love warning.</p><p>Climbing up the stairs, Leo couldn’t stop the dry laugh from escaping his lips. How ironic was that? He was getting told off about a crush that he used to have on a daughter of the love goddess by the Queen of the gods – who, by the way, was no love goddess. Why couldn’t life be like a machine for once? At least he would be able to understand it.</p><p>But something that he, Piper and Jason had talked about before saving Percy and Annabeth returned to his mind. Something about the prophecy. He was the seventh wheel of the group, so why wouldn’t it be him that gave his life in order to put Gaea back to sleep?</p><p>Then again, if he did have to die, the girls would be crying – even if Annabeth said she didn’t cry. On second thoughts, Annabeth was tough enough that she wouldn’t be crying but she’d still be upset. Hazel and Piper, on the other hand… he didn’t want to think about that. It would be like Hazel loosing Sammy all over again. And Piper… that little pile of ash that had once been her flame started to spark again, like it was telling him that he wasn’t supposed to die.</p><p>Hades, forget the girls, the boys would be blubbering if he died. Especially Jason. Despite what Hera did to him, Jason had become his best friend. That would be just plain rude. He should at least have the decency of seeing his old crush getting married off to the guy who had been Hera’s little experiment and had become his best friend before he died.</p><p>Once more he felt that spark of flame that belonged to Piper disappear into ash.</p><p>He must have been pacing up and down the stairs again (he did that nowadays whenever he thought about everything he had thought about that night) because he felt someone’s hands on his shoulders.</p><p>“ Leo, calm down.” Piper’s voice broke through his thoughts. The strange thing was, even though he didn’t feel like he needed to at that moment, he obeyed the order.</p><p>“ I think I preferred it when he was tinkering with things.” Jason whispered in the distance.</p><p>Piper ignored him. “ Tell me what’s wrong, Leo.”</p><p>“ Everything. Something’s going to happen to me when we find Gaea. I can feel it. Besides, according to Hera…”</p><p>Only then did he realise what had happened. Piper Mclean, daughter of Aphrodite, had charmspoke him. At least he was able to save himself from a possible interrogation… or was he? With a shake of his head, he managed to shrug the girl’s hands from his shoulders.</p><p>“ It’s nothing.” He finished instead.</p><p>“ You listen to me, Valdez. No one is going to die. Got that?”</p><p>“ Let’s pray you’re right, Beauty Queen.”</p><p>That said, he made his way back to his cabin. It wasn’t like him to be this depressing, but people change as they get older right? Maybe he was changing from clown to cope with all the serious and negativity that was coming out of him now. He hoped he wasn’t changing.</p><p>It was then, as he entered the room that he rarely slept in, that he felt something inside of him begin burning once more. It was Piper’s flame… but he had a feeling that this time it wasn’t burning from the love of one.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Caleo: Please Come Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is a Christmas themed one-shot that I had originally tried to have finished on Christmas day of, I think, 2014. The idea itself came to me after reading ScarletGoldmists's story 'Home for Christmas' on Fanfiction.net. </p><p>Also, please note that at the time of writing, I believed Will Solace to be able to sing and play music on a beginner's level and that he would have dragged Nico into learning the guitar. And, as Thalia and the Hunters were a last minute entry into the one-shot, Thalia will be on stage singing as part of the choir. Confused? Read on and you should understand why I say this.</p><p>Chapter pairing: Leo Valdez x Calypso<br/>Chapter Songs (in appearance order): 'Count Your Blessings (Instead Of Sheep)' by Rosemary Clooney<br/>                                                        : 'Please Come Home For Christmas' by Gene Autry<br/>                                                        : 'Feliz Navidad' by Jose Feliciano</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Leo couldn’t believe how much time had passed between the time he had arrived on Ogygia that second time to the time when he and Calypso were able to get back home to Camp Half-Blood. But, like them, time had flown by.</p><p>According to the newspaper he had picked up in Greece (of all the places they had to return back into the world, it had to be there) it had been August 18<sup>th</sup>. Thankfully, it was still the same year. Of course, that newspaper had to have been a few days old at least. Not to mention, Festus had to break down and crash land into the side of a forest covered mountain in the middle of nowhere. And Leo had to find the nearest metal scraps just to fix the navigation system.</p><p>Talk about agonising.</p><p>However, after nearly a day of searching and another hour or two on top of that for repair, the navigation system was fixed. And that was how they found out that they were in Greece… and that the nearest town was at least another day or two’s walk north. It was Calypso’s idea to start the trek into town early the next morning. So that’s what happened.</p><p>Eventually, after a few weeks of hunting for enough metal to temporarily fix Festus’ broken leg as well as a few other injuries the metal dragon had sustained during the crash into Greece, the trio had managed to walk all the way to Athens. The lack of godly metal was making it so that Leo’s dragon couldn’t fly.</p><p>It was mid-September by the time they stopped walking. Unfortunately for them, the monsters were still strong in this part of the world. As soon as the son of Hephaestus had walked into the Athenian Acropolis with Calypso asleep on Festus’ back beside him, the <em>gemini</em> attacked. It was obvious that they were still sore about what had happened over a month ago.</p><p>The only good thing about being in the Acropolis was that there were still lots of Celestial Bronze items hanging around the place… not to mention pieces from the <em>Argo II </em>that had been hacked off during the Giant Gathering. Well, that and being with Calypso. Unfortunately, the monsters didn’t give up their assault in trying to kill the three of them. So it was that Leo spend most of his days fixing Festus and most of his nights defending their makeshift camp.</p><p>Come October, Festus was finally back in flying condition. And with Festus flying again, the trio were off. Only this time, Calypso had taken control and was deciding to go everywhere but back to Camp Half-Blood. But Leo didn’t mind. He had said that they would go wherever his <em>sunshine</em> had wanted as soon as his dragon was fixed. He just didn’t expect the world tour that Calypso was taking them on.</p><p>It wasn’t until December 10<sup>th</sup> that Leo finally felt the strongest urge to find his friends and let them know that he was alive and well. And Calypso could tell that something was worrying the son of Hephaestus. So when he finally did let her in on what he wanted, she wasted no time in marching over to Festus and telling the metal dragon that they were going home. But, even when they reached America, the gods had other plans.</p><hr/><p>Finally, it was Christmas Eve and Leo, Festus and Calypso were allowed off Olympus. Yes, they had been on Olympus with the gods for an <em>entire week</em>. Of course, having been so close yet so far from his friends was almost like agony to Leo. But at least Calypso got pardoned personally by the gods, was made temporarily mortal and got to live the rest of her mortal life with her Supreme Commander and Repair Boy.</p><p>Now, Leo and Calypso were circling Camp Half-Blood on the back of Festus, trying to figure out the best way to ‘return from the dead’.</p><p>“ Can’t we just land in the Amphitheatre and get it over with?” the son of Hephaestus groaned.</p><p>“ No. You’ve done enough destroying this year.” The titaness replied sternly.</p><p>“ But…”</p><p>“ No. We are walking there like normal people.”</p><p>“ If you haven’t noticed, Sunshine, I’m Leo Valdez. And Leo Valdez doesn’t know the meaning of normal.”</p><p>Calypso won the argument… but only because Festus decided to side with her this time.</p><p>The dragon landed just beyond the border of camp and let his riders slide to the snow covered ground. He only blew a puff of smoke in his master’s face when the son of Hephaestus starting whining about not getting his way. With a slouch to his shoulders at not having the chance to land in the amphitheatre like he wanted, Leo led the way into camp.</p><p>The first thing that they noticed was that Thalia’s Pine was decorated from tree top to base in Christmas decorations. Snow covered the pine tree’s branches like a natural form of tinsel with brightly coloured ornaments randomly placed so that the snow didn’t dominate the tree. It was obvious that the whole camp pitched in because there were letters on the branches to and from various campers, the Christmas lights were actually Hephaestus cabin designed - god and goddess shaped ornaments that lit up when the sun went down (Leo could tell), and each one of the giant baubles had the names of late campers carefully written on them.</p><p>But, most important of all, was the tree’s topper. It wasn’t a star. Nor was it an angel. But it shone like a well-polished and glitter covered shoe. If it was closer, Leo could have sworn he would have been able to see his reflection in it. Next to that, it was obviously a newer part of the tree because the son of Hephaestus could have sworn he had seen a glimpse of a star last year. The topper itself now looked to be a combination of eagle and pegasus. It was obviously made to symbolise the joining of the two camps.</p><p>“ What is wrong with that tree?” Calypso asked innocently, gazing up in awe at the sight.</p><p>“ There’s nothing wrong with it, Sunshine. It’s just got Christmas decorations on it.” Leo replied with a smile.</p><p>“ Christmas?”</p><p>“ Yeah, you know. Giving gifts to friends and family, Santa Claus, birth of Jesus, massive feast.” Upon seeing that the titaness didn’t understand, Leo sighed and added “ I’ll explain it better later. Right now, come on.”</p><p>With that, the son of Hephaestus grabbed Calypso’s arm and started to drag her down into the valley and towards the amphitheatre. Along the way, they passed a number of Christmas and other festive holiday traditions.</p><p>The Hermes cabin seemed to have gotten their hands on a bunch of bazookas and had blasted all the cabins with various items to do with the seasons (Leo thought he had spotted a giant cube spinning top stuck in one of the Hephaestus cabin chimneys).</p><p>Someone had done something to the Hades cabin so that it looked like something out of that Christmas carol story, complete with the words ‘Bah, Humbug’ on the roof of the cabin. Scenes of Scrooge with the ghost of Marley, the three Christmas ghosts, and little Timmy were also displayed around the cabin. Though, why little Timmy was there, Leo had no idea.</p><p>Closer to the Arts and Craft centre stood a massive candelabra that could hold nine candles. Calypso wasn’t the only one confused about the giant candle holder. They all just stared (dragon included) at it for almost a minute as if the candelabra itself was going to explain what it was. After receiving no clue as to what the thing was for, they continued on their way.</p><p>And the randomly placed poles with mistletoe hanging from them wasn’t suspicious at all. Leo couldn’t help but stop under some mistletoe just so he could kiss Calypso. Once he explained what he was doing (Calypso just had to pull away in confusion, didn’t she), the daughter of Atlas, surprisingly, went to give Leo another kiss. It was Festus who interrupted that second kiss with a few creaks and clicks which translated into ‘Can we continue now?’.</p><p>When, finally, the trio arrived at the Amphitheatre, they found the place more than full. Orange, silver and purple shirts were practically shoulder to shoulder, but that may have also been because part of the place looked like it was under reconstruction. With all the bodies crowded around each other singing Christmas carols and swaying to the music, it was hard for Leo to pinpoint where his friends were… but he managed it in the end.</p><p>They were all sitting together in the front row, including Thalia, Reyna and Nico (and was that Will Solace sitting next to the son of Hades?).</p><p>But the first thing that stopped him from rushing down to them and screaming out that he was alive and well was the girl sitting at the grand piano on the stage. She looked to be about fifteen years and had long, dirty blonde hair that swayed in the cool wind that was blowing. And with the way she was singing and the way her fingers were dancing across the piano keys, Leo was more than sure that she was a daughter of Apollo.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If you're worried and you can't sleep</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Just count your blessings instead of sheep</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>The daughter of Apollo sang the words in a slow and meaningful way that Leo wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be a lullaby or what. But whatever it was, it was good… even if they had only caught the end of the song. As the girl stopped playing and stood to face her audience, Leo and Calypso both clapped along with the rest of the crowd. And neither one of them failed to notice, when Will Solace stood from his place next to Nico di Angelo and went to help his half-sister down from the stage and back to her seat, that the girl had a white cane in hand and thus was blind.</p><p>Calypso actually felt sorry for her and Leo could see that. Without a word, the son of Hephaestus took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze, not knowing what else to do to comfort his girlfriend. They stayed like that as they watched Will return to the stage and signal the rest of Leo’s friends to join him. Not even when Festus curled around himself and started falling asleep did they move. And the only kind of movement made as the son of Apollo raised a microphone to his lips and spoke was Calypso returned Leo’s comforting squeeze and Leo stiffened.</p><p>“ Thanks, Alison, for that lovely reminder to those we have lost and what they possibly wish for us now. But now the Crew of the <em>Argo II, </em>Reyna, Thalia and I would like to perform a wish of our own.”</p><p>Will then handed the microphone to Jason who was standing beside him and holding Piper’s hand. “ You all know that a few months ago, on the first of August, we lost many of our own to Gaea’s forces despite winning the war. And we all know that we lost one of the greatest heroes of our time in that war, Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus. Without him, we never would have won. But the ten of us have high hopes that our Leo managed to survive that blast he was lost in… and with that, we dedicate this next song to one Repair Boy, Dragon Master, Supreme Commander of the <em>Argo II</em>, Leo Valdez.”</p><p>No one said a word as Will moved over to the grand piano and Nico to a guitar not far from the bigger instrument (only the gods knew how hard the son of Apollo and son of Hades would have practiced to get this right). Reyna and Annabeth went to the side to collect seven more microphones as Piper whispered words of encouragement to her fellow performers. Whatever the song was, it must have been a sad one.</p><p>Once everyone was ready, Will started the song by running his fingers along the piano keys. Leo recognised Jake Mason over by the sound board, flicking a series of switches and giving a small nod. The next thing Leo knew was that Reyna had her microphone up to her lips and was singing.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Bells will be ringing the sad, sad news</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Oh what a Christmas to have the blues”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Nico was next to sing, despite having already started playing his guitar the moment the Roman <em>Praetor</em> had started singing. Leo didn’t judge the singing – there really wasn’t much to judge – but he couldn’t help but be surprised at the slight Italian accent the son of Hades had to his voice when he sang. It was actually a nice surprise.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“My baby's gone, I have no friends</em>
</p><p>
  <em>To wish me greetings once again”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>It was obvious, the second Piper raised her microphone and stepped forward a few seconds after Nico had stopped singing, that everyone was taking turns to sing. But it was not long after Piper had raised her microphone that everyone (minus Will and Nico who obviously had their own, hands-free microphones) raised their own mics as well, easily confusing the son of Hephaestus. It was only while Piper sang her part that Leo realised that the others were acting like a backup choir what with their soft ‘oohh’ing into their mics.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Choirs will be singin' 'Silent Night'</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Christmas carols by candlelight”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Jason was next to take over the lead part as Piper stepped back in line. Like Piper, he too stepped away from the others. Those watching could only guess that it was a visual way to separate the lead part from the choir.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Please come home for Christmas</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Please come home for Christmas”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>As the son of Jupiter finished each of his two lines, the Choir piped up (Will included) and finished with the words <em>“Please come home”.</em> Then Jason stepped back and all ten demigods were singing together as one.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“If not for Christmas by New Year's night”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>When Frank took his awkward step forward (it was obvious that the guy was getting stage-fright bad), the choir went back to their original ‘oohh’ing voices that they had taken up when Piper had started singing. Meanwhile, as the song went on, someone in the audience started to sway gently to the music. Sure enough, the rest of the camps followed suit as Frank’s voice rang over them.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Friends and relations send salutation</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sure as the stars shine above”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Hazel was next as unwanted tears started welling in Leo’s eyes. And, of course, the pachinko balls were back inside Leo, causing mayhem to his organs. Not to mention the sudden urge to <em>not</em> want the others to know that he was home and listening to them at that very moment. For some reason, his fire wasn’t working.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“But this is Christmas, yes Christmas my dear </em>
</p><p>
  <em>The time of year to be with the ones you love”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Annabeth took Hazel’s place as lead singer with Frank taking hold of his girlfriend’s hand the second she had returned to his side. The Choir was also back, singing <em>“Please tell me”</em> and <em>“You’ll never roam” </em>when the daughter of Athena took small breaks in her singing.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“So won't you tell me you'll never more roam?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Christmas and New Year will find you home”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Annabeth was quickly followed by Percy, who traded his place in the choir for her. The last two segments of the choir were only sung once Percy had finished certain parts of his verse. <em>“No more sorrow”</em> and <em>“No grief or pain”</em> were complete with sounds of people holding in their soft sobs and chokes.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“There'll be no more sorrow, no grief and pain</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And I'll be happy, happy once again”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Nico and Will then went on to do an instrumental duet on the guitar and piano respectively. Finally, the song finished with everyone on stage coming together to sing the final, repeated words… the same words that Percy had sung mere seconds before hand.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“There'll be no more sorrow, no grief and pain</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And I'll be happy, happy once again”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Silence. Not a clap was sounded for the group that had just finished their tribute to their friend. And that was because the song deserved no applause. Not because the song was that bad (because Leo would deny anyone who said that the singing was crap and out of tune, and because that song really wasn’t that bad), but because of how deep and meaningful the song was. It meant a lot to Leo to be able to arrive home just in time to hear that.</p><p>Of course, Leo couldn’t just stand around letting his friends… no, his family… mope around and think that he was still lost to the world somewhere or quite possibly dead. Somehow he managed to steel himself and plant the biggest grin ever on his face. And, of course, Calypso had to notice.</p><p>“ What are you planning, Valdez?” She whispered, trying not to ruin the obvious surprise that her (not)boyfriend was planning.</p><p>“ Oh, just a little Spanish carol.” Leo replied before turning to his sleeping dragon and raising his voice so that he definitely was heard. “ Hey Festus!”</p><p>Aside from the fact that everyone in the amphitheatre was confused by the sudden and mostly familiar call and name, Festus opened one eye and trained it sleepily on his master. He snorted his disapproval at being woken up.</p><p>“ Yeah, buddy. I know. But if you can do me a small favour now, I’ll let you sleep for the rest of the night.”</p><p>A few obviously grumbled clicks and clacks along with a slight growl.</p><p>“ I just wanted you to play that CD I gave you. Please?”</p><p>Another snort followed by the dragon closing his eye and moving his head. Leo merely shrugged his shoulders and turned around, his grin faltering just slightly at the thought of his dragon not helping. He knew it was probably his fault for having woken the dragon from his sleep. But he didn’t bother his friend any further.</p><p>Instead, he started making his way down to where his friends waited, still as trees, on stage. He only missed a couple of steps as he made his way down because he was about to start singing when Festus decided that he was going to play the background music that they had recorded up on Olympus. Either Calypso had gone over to the dragon and scolded him (she was known to do that) or the dragon had finally decided that playing the music wasn’t too big an ask. But Leo took his little stumble all in his stride and set himself alight as he picked himself up and started to sing.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Feliz Navidad</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Feliz Navidad</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Feliz Navidad</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Prospero año y felicidad.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Feliz Navidad</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Feliz Navidad</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Feliz Navidad</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Prospero año y felicidad.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas</em>
</p><p>
  <em>From the bottom of my heart.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Unfortunately, in true Leo style, he could never - and probably will never - master grand and heroic entrances. Calypso could only sigh and shake her head as the son of Hephaestus randomly waved his flaming hands around as he danced down the stairs and eventually tripped himself up. She knew that dancing down stairs was going to lead to bad endings the second she realised what he was doing. But all she could do (aside from smirking, that is) was hurry to Festus and tell the dragon to stop playing the music.</p><p>Leo, on the other hand, didn’t feel so great after falling flat on his face at the bottom of the stairs. All he could do was shift his head to the side and try to blink away the pain. Not to mention spit out the wad of stray snow that had fallen off his head. That just didn’t taste good at all.</p><p>The son of Hephaestus lay like that for a good three minutes as his pain transformed into embarrassment. Failing an entrance in front of Calypso, fine. Failing an entrance back home with everyone from <em>the hunters and both camps</em> <em>watching</em>, not so fine. And the fact that no one was coming to see if he was okay or not, yeah that just seemed to ruin the effect. It felt like the time when Piper had charmspoke those eidolons out of him, Percy and Jason and Frank didn’t bother to catch him as he fell while the girls focussed their attentions on Jason and Percy.</p><p>“ I feel so loved.” He weakly muttered, his words echoing around the silent amphitheatre.</p><p>After another few minutes that seemed to take forever, someone finally found their voice.</p><p>“ L-Leo?”</p><p>With some effort, Leo managed to peel himself off the Amphitheatre floor and sat on the step that he had so gracefully missed. Then, with his mischievous smile planted bravely on his face and his flames extinguished thanks to his fall, he looked up at his friends on stage. “ Hey guys. Got your call. Thanks for keeping your chins up for me.”</p><p>There was a moment’s silence as the shock arrival of Leo Valdez, in the flesh, died away only to be replaced with a number of other, mixed emotions. Aside from the relieved and confused expressions on the faces of Will, Hazel and Frank, everyone else on stage looked like they were about to murder him again. Needless to say, the smile on Leo’s face disappeared.</p><p>And that was when all hell broke loose. The first ones to reach him were Jason and Piper who had abandoned their microphones to the stage floor with a loud screech (Jake hurried to turn off all mics after that). They started strangling and punching him.</p><p>Percy and Annabeth came next, also choosing to strangle him. The only difference being that Annabeth judo flipped him and then started to interrogate him while Percy merely strangled him and laughed.</p><p>“ Leo Valdez!” Hazel’s voice rang clear above the others as she made her way down to where the son of Hephaestus was waiting to be strangled yet again, Frank right behind her with a massive grin on his face and tears in his eyes. “ Don’t you <em>ever</em> scare us like that again! Do you hear me?”</p><p>“ Sorry, guys. But it was…” Leo was cut short by Frank squeezing the life out of him in a massive bear hug, just without the bear form. “ Okay, Frank. You can put me down now.”</p><p>“ Sorry.” The son of Mars muttered as he placed his friend back on the ground.</p><p>Before Leo could even start explaining anything, Nico di Angelo materialised next to the boy and scared him half out of his wits. “ How did you come back? Hazel and I both felt you…”</p><p>His voice failed him before the final word managed to escape the son of Hades’ mouth. That’s when Leo managed to escape the mass of friends awaiting an explanation. Stepping back and up two of the steps, he turned around and motioned for Calypso to join him now that he had deemed everything safe.</p><p>Calypso merely turned to face Festus, found the dragon now sound asleep, turned back to Leo and the awaiting demigods, and made her way to Leo’s side with a look of pure determination glowing from her face. Leo could only smile as those darn pachinko balls returned to their favourite past time; hammering his insides. Gasps of awe echoed through the amphitheatre. Wherever he was, Chiron bent down and bowed, leading to a whole heap of campers following suit. Percy could only mutter her name.</p><p>“ Guys, meet Calypso.” Leo stated the second Calypso was by his side.</p><p>After the introductions, Leo had no choice but to explain what had happened in the past few months. In order to keep him from running off (like he was going to do that) Percy, Nico and Thalia each trained their weapons at him as Jason made the winds move him to the edge of the stage and Piper charmspoke him. But, after his interrogation was over, Leo was allowed to move freely again. Once the weapons were put away, he returned the favour and demanded to know what had been happening while he was gone.</p><p>Before anyone knew what was happening, the Christmas performance was back in full swing. Leo and Calypso took their place among their friends as the campfire rose to levels the son of Hephaestus never thought it could achieve. Calypso made fast friends with everyone and even forgave Percy - who wouldn’t stop apologising. She even learnt from Chiron – who came to welcome her back into the world – and the others what was going on with the decorated tree and the giant candelabra. Turned out the candelabra was actually called a menorah.</p><p>Coach Hedge came running up to Leo and almost shoved his son, Chuck, into his face. Chuck merely bleated in a cute, baby way as he was passed to the son of Hephaestus before falling asleep in the demigod’s arms. Leo kind of felt like he was his <em>bisabuelo, </em>Sammy, when he held the baby satyr, but he welcomed it like he was supposed to have been the one to hold him all along. Eventually, Coach took his son from Leo’s arms and quietly took him back home to bed as Nico was forced back on stage for some reason.</p><p>Finally Leo and Calypso found themselves alone amongst the crowd of demigods and hunters. The first, uninterrupted kiss came from the titaness who sighed a soft ‘Merry Christmas’ as they pulled apart. Leo was next to start the kiss, not caring about what anyone else thought of his choice of girlfriend. When he pulled away for breath, he could only mutter four words as he looked into Calypso’s dark, sparkling eyes and take in her cinnamon scent.</p><p>
  <em>“ Feliz Navidad, mi sol.”</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. PoseidonxPercy: The Visit</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This has to be the shortest one shot in the series. And I'm sorry if it's a bit confusing. At the time of writing, I was initially trying to go for a Sally and Poseidon story but it ended up morphing into Poseidon visiting Percy when he was a baby. </p><p>Chapter characters: Poseidon and Percy<br/>Chapter song: 'Somebody Else' by Ronan Keating</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Poseidon would never have thought that he would be able to share his love for one Sally Jackson. But somehow he did. And he shared that love with a little mortal boy of his own making.</p><p>The boy looked the spitting image of him; cute, black hair, sea green eyes. Right now, he was curled up asleep in a blue blanket, his tiny fists clutching the fabric like it was the only thing keeping him in the mortal world. As gently as he could, the god of the seas lowered his millennia aged hand over the boy’s head.</p><p>“ Perseus.” He whispered, unintentionally managing to wake the small baby.</p><p>In the other room, Poseidon could hear Sally on the phone, talking and laughing to one of her friends. Despite everything that’s happened in her life, it always made his immortal heart swell to hear Sally laugh. And, sure enough, talk of her child… their child… eventually made its way into the conversation. The first word about the boy and the sea god knew that he had few precious seconds left with his son.</p><p>“ When you grow up, Perseus, you must be strong and brave. But there will be times where you must let the Fates play their hand. When that happens, never forget who you are. You are a powerful child, my child, and you must protect those dear to your heart. Be wise with your decisions. And remember, I will always be watching you… even when it feels like I’m not. In time, you will understand.”</p><p>For a response, the baby merely took one hand from his blanket and tried to reach for one of the bigger man’s fingers. Poseidon merely smiled as he pulled his hand away. He knew his time was up and that he’d get caught if he stayed any longer. But the boy seemed to think otherwise. As the god backed away from the cot, he could have sworn that he saw tears spring into the child’s eyes.</p><p>“ One day, son, you will meet me again. But only when you’re older. Great things are ahead of you, Perseus Jackson. I can feel it.” He whispered before letting the sea air engulf him and return him to his underwater palace where he would watch the boy grow into a fine young man.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Festus: Just Like Clockwork</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>When I first wrote this, I wasn't that happy with the ending. Now, I'm not sure what to think of it. One part of me tells me that it's fine, another is clearly uncertain about it. Tell me what you think of it and my beliefs on the story of Festus the Dragon.</p><p>Chapter character: Festus (with minor Beckendorf, Chiron and Leo)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>September 5<sup>th</sup>, 1863</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“ Hey, Cage. What’s that you’re doing?” A voice called from behind the short statured son of Hephaestus, forcing him to draw an unintended line across the majority of his nearly complete blueprint.</p><p>Micajah Earnst, known to most of his siblings and friends as Cage, was probably the shortest son of Hephaestus in the cabin. Like most people in camp, he was fair skinned despite the almost permanent oil and grease smudges covering a good percentage of his body. But he had one hazel eye and one green eye, as well as light brown hair complete with oil and grease smudges. With a sigh, the boy closed his eyes before turning around and glaring at the person who had ruined his masterpiece.</p><p>Behind him stood one of the few dark skinned campers, Byron Howland. Byron was another son of Hephaestus. He was also the tallest of the siblings… and the youngest. How that happened, no one knew. People just accepted it. But he faltered in his advance when he noticed the odd eyed glare that his half-brother was giving him. Being the youngest also meant that he was the most curious out of the cabin.</p><p>“ I’m guessing I interrupted something important again, didn’t I.”</p><p>“ Yes, Byron. You did. Now what do you want?” Micajah replied, irritation in his voice, before turning back to his blueprints and erasing the massive mistake on the page.</p><p>“ Ike and Benjamin were looking for you. They wanted to ask you about what happened with… with Mathias.”</p><p>“ Don’t you speak his name!!” Micajah leapt off his stool with red face and clenched fist holding a broken pencil, two multi-coloured fires burning in his eyes.</p><p>“ I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I forgot for a moment. I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”</p><p>But despite the panic in Byron’s voice, Micajah was storming through the bunker – tossing sheets and tools all across the massive room and forcing hydraulic lifts and other metal objects built before their time out of his way. Not even the armour was spared being thrown about in the boy’s fit of rage.</p><p>Finally, after five intense minutes, Micajah calmed down somewhat. That is to say, he was stopped by the ladder which led up to the catwalk and the boarded tunnel. He himself had recently placed the boards over the passage to what he now called the ‘traitor’s cave’.</p><p>In reality, that small passage led to three rooms. The first room had been Mathias’ home away from home. It had everything an ordinary bedroom needed from a bed to a wardrobe. It even had celestial bronze lighting instead of candles. The second and third rooms were filled to the brim with every one of Mathias’ experiments, gadgets and contraptions. Of course, they were only filled like that because Mathias had betrayed not only Macajah’s friendship and trust but also the entire population of Camp Half-Blood. So what if he had Roman blood in him? He was born a Greek so he should stay a Greek!</p><p>And that is why Micajah now hated Mathias.</p><p>Ever since that day when Mathias was kicked out of camp, Micajah had wanted nothing to do with the boy. So he stashed everything he could of his old friend’s things away in Bunker 9 and blockaded every inch of the tunnel. Nothing would be able to get in or out.</p><p>Now, and this was the reason why he was in Bunker 9 working on blueprints, Micajah was almost certain that Mathias would return wanting revenge. So, because of that and the sense of impending doom he was getting, he was planning on making a new source of protection for the entire camp. If only Chiron and Madam Aphaea would see the idea as brilliant and not ludicrous every time he begged them to reconsider.</p><p>So far, his plan was to build something that had never before been built. Of course, it would have to be an automaton due to the fact that he was a Hephaestus boy and every child of Hephaestus had a knack for working with metal. It would also have to be big and dangerous in order to defend the entire camp. And he had the perfect idea for a Camp Half-Blood defender in his head... and almost on paper.</p><p>To be completely honest, he was having difficulties with working out how the head would look like. He had the rest of the body looking perfect on the blueprints. He could just never see the head of the beast whenever he dreamed about it. It was always in the shadows, maybe even missing. That was what he was trying to figure out when Byron had entered.</p><p>And it was just like Byron to have more than one reason to be in a place like Bunker 9 because he pulled from his pocket a folded up piece of paper. Slowly, trying not to cause any more sudden outbursts of anger from his half-brother, the black boy made his way over to where the smaller, oil smudged boy was standing.</p><p>“ John Bastion from Apollo Cabin also wanted me to give you this.” He said, holding the paper out to Micajah. “ All he said was that this piece of paper had to get to you and only you and that you were right. Now I don’t know what’s going on, but something smells fishy… and it’s not Martha or the Poseidon Cabin.”</p><p>“ For now Byron, just know that when I ask for help, I want everyone’s help on deck. I’m going to show Chiron and Madam Aphaea that this camp really does need protection. But what was I right about?”</p><p>“ The Romans are coming.”</p><p>Those four words weighed heavily over both sons of Hephaestus. With what felt like a rock jamming his throat, Micajah unfolded the paper in his hand. What he saw was a hurried sketch of a massive Greek Trireme surrounded completely by massive flames and complete with what was marked as full celestial bronze plating, possible air to land features and more. And the sketches of the weapons was more than amazing (Cage would have fun trying to even design them on the blueprints).</p><p>But the main thing that caught his attention was the masthead. There was no two ways about it, it was a dragon’s head. Made out of Celestial Bronze, the eyes glowed red with life and its mouth was open as if ordering the flames to let the ship pass. For Micajah, it was almost like love at first sight. Without a word to his half-brother, Micajah hurried back to his work bench and quickly got to work sketching both the blueprints for the mega-trireme (as he was already starting to call it) and finishing the blueprints of his project.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>August 31<sup>st</sup>, 1864</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>All was quiet in Camp Half-Blood. Training still went on, as did the fights with the monsters that attacked. But the thick, tense air was the only thing that reminded everyone of what was going on outside. And that tense reminder was all it took to get everyone to train ten times as hard as usual.</p><p>The reason? War was upon them.</p><p>Even though Bunker 9 was originally created as a hidden warehouse that connected to both the forges and the Hephaestus cabins, Chiron had made the entire cabin turn their warehouse into a bunker almost the second that Mathias had been forced from Camp Half-Blood.</p><p>Next to that, as soon as the outside war had started the month before between north and south, Chiron and Madam Aphaea had both ordered that the other cabins get their own bunkers too. It was only a precaution thing, in case the war worked its way to the cabin borders, but everyone in camp had to help build the bunkers. Even the Big House got its own bunker with the dining pavilion becoming part of the Big House bunker and the Infirmary becoming part of Bunker 7 on Chiron’s orders.</p><p>After five months of doing nothing but building the bunkers of Camp Half-Blood, Micajah couldn’t help but sigh as he sank down onto his cot in Bunker 9. It was night time outside the Bunkers, which was supposed to mean bed time. The only difference was that only four cabins were allowed outside at a time during the day and <em>everyone</em> went into the bunkers to sleep instead of their cabins.</p><p>At first, it was the entire camp somehow squashed together in Bunker 9. There was literally next to no space to even walk safely thanks to all the tools and bodies everywhere. And, of course, that meant that everyone now knew exactly where the secret entrance was in Cabin 9 – well, the Cabin leaders did, anyway. Micajah took to sleeping on the catwalk in front of the Traitor’s Cave just to make sure that no one tried to pry off the boards.</p><p>Once the first of the new Bunkers was created, the genders were separated. That meant that there was more walking space… and more snooping space. The only good thing was that now the bunker camp had an infirmary. And – at that point at least – the next bunker to be built was the Big House bunker.</p><p>By the time June rolled around, half the camp had bunkers of their own. And when that happened, Micajah was the first to kick anyone who wasn’t of Hephaestus blood out of Bunker 9. That was when Bunker 9 returned to being solely used by Hephaestus children by night. Unfortunately for Micajah, the daylight hours were still busy building bunkers with.</p><p>Now, after the last of the Bunkers had finally been finished, Micajah just wanted to burry himself in a hole. He had almost finished building the various pieces of automaton when Chiron had informed the campers of what was happening in the Civil War, especially the battle for Globe Tavern. And that news alone had shocked the son of Hephaestus.</p><p>Out of Micajah’s older half-siblings, he had two brothers in the army and one sister. Josiah and Floyd were twins and were the eldest at 21 years, with Evelyn just turning 18 and thus stuck in the middle. Micajah himself was turning 15 soon. But on the day that Chiron had given out the news about the new war back in 1861, he had also given out a couple of letters; the majority of which stated to the receiving camper that a war had been started and that a member of their family had gone to either serve for the north or the south. His was the only letter to state a death; Floyd had died in the battle of Philippi.</p><p>From his inner pocket, Micajah pulled out a number of pieces of paper. The majority of those papers were mainly job lists and miniature blueprints. But there were two letters in amongst the ‘everyday’ papers. The first was the letter stating that Floyd had been one of the first casualties in the war, the second was received not long ago and it bore the same kind of news; Josiah had, now too, fallen to the war.</p><p>Micajah dug through the papers until he came across one that was a smaller version of his automaton blueprint he had been working on when Byron had given him the image containing the machine’s head. On it was a fine drawing of a great automaton dragon. Of course, this was still a blueprint in its own rights, and so was labelled with the various colours that the son of Hephaestus intended to make the dragon out of. But even though the beast was still being made, Micajah had already named it.</p><p>“ One of these days, Alex, you will be out of the Bunker and protecting the camp. Heck, you may even protect the world one day. But I have a bad feeling that I will never get to see that day come. For now, though, we’ll just start small. You’ll protect these letters, won’t you?” The son of Hephaestus said to the image.</p><p>Without another word, Micajah turned onto his side and, clutching the letters and the miniature blueprint, fell asleep.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>September 25<sup>th</sup>, 1864</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“ They’re here! All arms at the ready!” Christopher Lewis, head counsellor for Ares cabin, roared down into the bunkers from the tower that was a part of Bunker 5.</p><p>Cue mass chaos as everyone below ground tried to sort themselves out and defend their home. Micajah rushed to the rest of the Hephaestus cabin who were all surrounding his not-so-little project. Everything was ready. Alex was complete and ready to get to work defending the camp. The only thing that his creator was wishing at that moment was that the Romans would have given him enough time to attach the wings to his dragon, then he would have been a force to be reckoned with.</p><p>Alas, that was not to happen.</p><p>“ I hope you know what you’re doing, Mr Earnst.” Chiron sighed as he watched the children of Hephaestus surround the great bronze automaton.</p><p>“ Don’t worry, Chiron. Alex was <em>made </em>to protect camp.” Micajah replied with as much reassurance as he could muster given the situation they were currently in.</p><p>With that, the dragon creator turned to face his creation. A sense of pride seemed to wash over him as he looked over the perfectly melded form of his automaton pet.</p><p>Alex was made entirely of bronze plating and with all the advanced wiring and circuitry inside of him, Micajah knew that he wouldn’t fail in his duties for at least a century or more – two if he was well cared for. The flamethrower that was built into the dragon’s chest and connected to the neck was state of the art and the only way for Alex to ignite his flame was to engulf copious amounts of oil mixed with chilli peppers, vinegar, pepper corns and tomato juice squeezed fresh from the growing tomatoes.<strong> (AN: I don’t believe Camp Half-Blood was always in the strawberry business)</strong> And those sharp claws and sharp, rotating teeth were never going to dull thanks to the way that they were specially designed and created. However, though Micajah loved the entire dragon, Alex’s ruby red eyes had to have been his most handsome attributes that only the son of Hades, Jedidiah H., could have made possible. Those ruby eyes were made from real rubies.</p><p>Finally, after admiring his creation, Micajah took a deep breath and raised his head to the roof of Bunker 9.</p><p>“ Great Lord Hephaestus, father, we beg you hear our prayer. All we ask is for help in protecting our home of Camp Half-Blood and thus Olympus. Together, your children of Camp Half-Blood have come together to create a great, bronze dragon in order to help protect our home from monsters and Romans alike. Father, we beg you, I beg you, please give life to this great automaton so that it may fulfil its duty to the gods. Please let him live so that, when the time comes, he will be chosen to embark on a great quest foreseen in the distant future. We’ve never asked for anything from you for the past hundred years. Please, father, grant this automaton dragon life.”</p><p>A small spark of light. The whirring sound of gears. Then nothing. Micajah was about to give up when the Romans forced their way into one of the other bunkers. In a mad rush, the Hephaestus cabin broke the ring they had formed around the dragon and charged with weapons and mechanic devices alike. The bi-eyed son of the fire god had no choice but to follow. But before he left, he managed to take in one last sight of his great dragon.</p><p>Micajah was one of the fallen that day.</p><p>He had never seen his dragon wake for the first time and charge after the Roman forces, making them flee for their lives and thus causing Camp Half-Blood to win the battle.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>April 15<sup>th</sup>, 1906</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Forty two years had passed since the battles between the Roman and Greek demigod camps, and Alex was still making his daily (and nightly) rounds of Camp Half-Blood’s border. Despite being an automaton, he could tell that none of the campers that now lived within his territory knew about the near destruction of their camp. However, he could also tell that the children of Hermes and Poseidon were planning something.</p><p>The Hermes cabin, as always, was full beyond measure. And, somehow, the full blood Hermes children (namely Paul Scudder, Bob Dalley, Carney Edwards and their sister Vivian Gardner) had gathered a whole heap of blackmail on the Poseidon Twins Finn and Sander Sutter, both of which had the combined power of creating earthquakes if ever they fought against each other. And there was more than one earthquake-created ditch that Alex had fallen into because of those two… which is why Alex was very cautious around the Poseidon Twins.</p><p>Of course, when Paul, Bob, Carney, Vivian, Finn and Sander all went missing for near on a week, the entire camp became instantly worried. Alex didn’t really care about them, though. They were just annoyances in his eyes. Especially Bob. Thanks to the son of Hermes, Alex <em>almost</em> malfunctioned due to one of his pranks.</p><p>Yeah, that was the day that Bob learned to never get on the automaton’s bad side.</p><p>A few days later, Alex discovered, thanks to patrolling around Chiron’s office, where the campers had been. San Francisco. The Hermes campers (who, by the way, were all older than the Poseidon Twins) had managed to get Finn and Sander to fight each other on a beach there before going around and starting some of the fires. And, of course, despite the severe punishment that was given to all six of them, no one managed to find out just who it was that had caused the San Francisco Earthquake.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>December 8<sup>th</sup>, 1941</em>
</p><p>By the time Micajah Earnst’s automaton dragon was seventy-seven years old, Alex was no longer Alex. Thanks to the San Francisco Earthquake, most of the Hephaestus campers could no longer come to camp due to death. Yeah, the small number of children in the Hephaestus Cabin – which totalled all of six – had all perished. And the only one who didn’t, a little girl by the name of Amanda and at the tender age of ten, disappeared about five years later when she went to mourn the loss of her siblings.</p><p>Needless to say, the great automaton was forgotten by all but Chiron. And even when Hephaestus had children in his cabin once more, no one seemed to miss him. Instead, he was thought of as a myth, a legend.</p><p>However, the automaton found a new friend not even a month before America entered the Second World War. This son of Hephaestus was about eleven, he was a Latino child and his name was Gomez. He also seemed to have a thing for the comic strips in the newspapers which he almost always managed to convince the Hermes children to get for him.</p><p>To be completely honest, Alex’s new name was Fester, after one of those comic strip characters… and he liked the name. It gave him a sort of connection to his creator and life bringer, despite being just a machine. And, at the time of the bombing of Pearl Harbour, both he and Gomez were enjoying a nice stroll together. Gomez had been talking about trying to get the automaton to fly when the horn was sounded for an emergency meeting.</p><p>Chiron brought bad news that day. America was at war once again. Vaguely, Fester noted that the time of his awakening was during a war. He also vaguely noted that the enemy ran from the sight of him. It was that vague memory that prompted the dragon to take a proud step forward at the meeting and blow a puff of smoke. Sadly, his pride was torn with the centaur’s next words.</p><p>“ I’m sorry, old friend. But you cannot chase away this enemy. They are much too powerful for you to take on alone. And your duty is to this camp. Maybe one day, when camp is threatened once more, you can show everyone how fierce a dragon can truly be.”</p><hr/><p>
  <em>New Year’s Eve, 1989-1990</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>The great, 125 year old bronze dragon watched as the winter campers eagerly awaited the New Year. He heard them counting down the seconds. He saw the fireworks display blasting through the sky as if in war with the stars and clouds above. And he slinked away into the forest as the demigods returned to their cabins for the night.</p><p>Four generations of demigods had passed since the dragon had been known as Fester. Unfortunately, Fester was once more forgotten - except in legend – amongst them. And Fester knew that Chiron could see it.</p><p>Already he was past his tune up date, and he had been for the past several months. There was a chink in his tail that desperately needed fixing and one of his claws had come loose. He was even leaking oil… and he really didn’t like that. Not to mention the rust and fungus that was surprisingly starting to coat his once glistening body.</p><p>With a final puff of smoke, the great dragon knew that his days of service were now over. His pride wounded and his fire replaced with sorrow, he dug himself a deep nest and curled up. He didn’t notice how long it took for his circuits to finally shut down and he really didn’t care. The only thing he cared about was that he was no longer needed and thus no longer cared for. All he cared about was that he was alone.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>The Re-awakening</em>
</p><p> </p><p>To be completely honest, Fester had no idea how long had passed since he had shut down. He just remembered waking up to a really fuzzy looking dark skinned, buff boy. His hearing wasn’t that great either and the joints in his scales gritted together like they had been covered in sand or something for years. It was quite uncomfortable and – like any old creature – that made him grumpy.</p><p>But Fester was slowly brought up to date by the retuning of the buff boy who had awoken him. Charles was his name. Charles Beckendorf. And there was something about this son of Hephaestus that reminded the automaton of one of his old friends. He just couldn’t put a name to it.</p><p>Maybe it was the way Charles worked with a kind of thoughtful passion or the way the boy talked, when he talked at all. Maybe it was the boy’s silence that was familiar. Either way, Fester felt like he had connected to the boy almost as soon as he had woken up. And that was why he allowed Charles to even get close to him and help him.</p><p>He was, after all, a dragon. And dragons demanded a lot of respect in their partners.</p><p>Unfortunately, the time Fester had with Charles was a short one. When Charles didn’t return from his mission like he had promised, the great dragon knew that something was wrong. And when the entire camp seemed to fall into depression, he knew what exactly it was that was wrong.</p><p>Overcome with his own grief at having lost yet another friend (and this time one he had barely got to know) he went wild. There was no other way to explain his actions. Each friend that he had lost, Fester had somehow sunk deeper and deeper into his own sorrow. And he always managed to get himself out of his ‘ditch of sorrow’ by somehow convincing himself that someone else was waiting for him.</p><p>But this time it was different. Fester felt like he was never going to see the smile of another friend again with the death of Charles. And the camp’s negative reaction to the boy’s death didn’t help his mood at all. Even the news that he was going to be torn apart couldn’t faze him. Fester had gone into kamikaze mode.</p><p>Then he showed up.</p><p>The dragon boy.</p><p>His name was Leo Valdez. And though he had the features of a small forest sprite, he had the fire and the courage of a dragon.</p><p>At first, he didn’t know what to think of the scrawny thing. Especially when his fire wasn’t harming the boy even an inch. And then when the boy got trapped with him, he really had no idea what to think. Not even when the boy managed to free him and give him a small but well deserved tune up in the forest did the automaton dragon know what to do.</p><p>But then Leo gave him a name. A name so familiar yet so different that a sense of pride and duty washed over him once again. A name that gave him an even stronger connection to his creator, friends and life-bringer than the one he was given before.</p><p>Festus.</p><p>And Leo was the only one of his friends to notice that he had no wings. The next thing Festus knew was that he had wings attached to his back and was flying across the country with his new master and friends. It was a glorious feeling being able to fly at last. There was no way to describe it. And the feeling of finally realising his true purpose that came with his new-found flight abilities… well, that was beyond extraordinary.</p><p>Of course, bad things happen to demigods. And Festus learnt that the hard way. Not only did he shut down numerous times during the quest, but he was also shot down and pretty much destroyed.</p><p>The last thing Festus remembered after crash landing was telling Leo that everything can be reused and not to despair.</p><p>Boy did Festus get a surprise when he woke up attached to a ship. Once more, his wings were gone. In fact, his entire body was gone. That made the poor dragon just a <em>little bit</em> depressed. Okay, so he was more depressed than he was when Charles died at the fact that he was now just a head. But Leo was still there, so that had to be a bonus.</p><p>Another bonus; he could still fly. Somehow, little Leo had managed to build a ship that could fly. And, with Leo’s help, Festus went sailing across the world. Of course, he still had to defend the ship and the demigods from the various monsters that tried to stop them. But he wasn’t going to let anything happen to Leo. Dragons had to stick together in times of need.</p><p>And what greater need was there than being force to wake up by the daughter of Aphrodite and having to defend the ship against a snow goddess? To be honest, he felt more alive and more determined than ever thanks to the daughter of Aphodite’s awakening. Especially when he did a ‘head count’ and found out that Leo was missing.</p><p>That dragon did not rest until his boy was found.</p><p>Once Leo was found, however, Festus was confused. Yeah he was glad to be back. Yeah he continued to work. But the bronze dragon could sense that not everything was right within his boy. And he had to practically force the information out of him before he could help. Upon news of the Calypso girl that Leo had met reaching the bronze dragon’s ears, Festus went silent for a little while.</p><p>The joy that overcame Leo once Festus voiced his thoughts instantly set into motion a new beginning for the dragon. Festus could feel the changes within the ship that Leo was making. And it pleased him. It made him proud of the boy.</p><p>Then came the promise. With some kind of liquid in hand, Leo had explained what had to happen to Festus. Sure, Festus disagreed with a number of things to the boy’s plans, but he couldn’t deny that the boy’s dragon spirit was burning greater than ever because of it. So he agreed… and the final touches were built into his new, hidden body in preparation for the big reveal.</p><p>Fighting against Gaea was what the dragon was made for, he realised. And his new body was fireproof for that very reason. Of course no one expected the screaming fireball to have any say in the destruction, but it worked. Gaea was destroyed… and it looked like she wasn’t coming back. And yet, there was just enough essence of her left to make sure that the world didn’t follow her destruction.</p><p>But Gaea wasn’t the only one destroyed that day. On Festus’ back lay the charred remains of his dragon boy. And the great bronze dragon had been blown far off course. He couldn’t even recognise anything anymore.</p><p>But he had a job to do. Two, actually. The first – and most important – happened when he extended the syringe that was hidden within a fold in his neck and injected the liquid into the husk of his dragon boy. It wasn’t pleasant, but he had to do it if Leo had a chance of living again.</p><p>The second was more of a waiting game. Festus had to search for the lost island without actually searching for it. That confused the dragon greatly, but it was one of the boy’s last wishes. So he went with it. And given the fact that his brand-new body had been charred thanks to the fight with Gaea, all he could do was glide around on whatever wind he could.</p><p>Thankfully the wait wasn’t that long. As soon as Festus felt Leo sit up, he retracted the needle. But it wasn’t until he had heard Leo’s voice that he felt everything that had been messed up in his mind since he didn’t know when click into place. Yeah, he welcomed Leo back to the land of the living. But he now had the feeling that Leo Valdez was more than just his dragon boy, more than his friend.</p><p>Leo was his brother.</p><p>And, as he descended to the Lost Island, he knew that there was no place he’d rather be than at his brother’s side.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Solangelo: Drowning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is the last chapter of Little Wonders. It was finished (and I think started) around the end of the Heroes of Olympus series. As such, it is also my first Solangelo work. My apologies if I hurt some readers due to ideas within the story. I was trying to portray a post-HoO Nico Di Angelo. Other than that, I hope you all enjoyed reading my little collection of one-shots.</p><p>Chapter Pairing: Nico x Will<br/>Chapter Song: 'Drowning' by Backstreet Boys</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When did it get like this? Was it during the stay in the infirmary or was it during the battle against Gaea on Half-Blood Hill? Or was it even before all of that?</p><p>It was all just a mess, and that was the only thing that was certain.</p><p>Somewhere, in the early stages, people started assuming that it was all thanks to Annabeth that he was all dark and brooding… well, most did. There were a few people who realised it was because of his sister, but then their minds twisted something along the lines and they started to believe the majority in thinking it was Annabeth.</p><p>Thankfully, they stopped with the ‘Annabeth’ thing. Unfortunately they created something even more ridiculous. Thalia. He doesn’t even know how they managed to get there, but they did. Talk about extremes. He even heard rumours going around that when he was sitting in the shadows of the trees or cabins, it was because he was writing love letters to Thalia or some such thing.</p><p>Reality check; they were either lists, twenty-first century stuff his father was sending him, or worksheets he was doing for the private classes he went to (mainly in the underworld, but still). Believe it or not, even though he was the son of Hades, he was still human and thus needed fresh air every now and then.</p><p>It took people a little while to realise that he wasn’t that into the opposite gender… like during the war with Gaea. Yeah, people were slow. But it was really starting to get annoying. First it was Jason. Then Leo. And apparently someone really wanted him to get together with Pollux from the Dionysus Cabin (not that that would ever work out).</p><p>Eventually people caught on to the fact that he once had a crush on Percy, but that was after he had opened up to said boy. Perfect example of how fast things spread in camp; the news had spread like wildfire. The torture that came afterwards in the form of half the Aphrodite Cabin (the other half was thankfully being controlled by Piper) trying to get him together with someone was just that; torture.</p><p>Despite all the death glares he sent them, they just kept coming back for more. Not even Mrs O’Leary could do anything about it when he tried to get her to stop them. And neither did locking himself up in his cabin work because they’d either send their possible (read: failed) matches to knock on his door, or <em>he</em> would show up.</p><p>It was annoying. The way his shaggy hair seemed to adorn his head like some kind of golden crown. Or the way his eyes twinkled like the sky on a clear, cloudless day whenever he smiled. And <em>especially</em> when he came around just to bug him about ‘doctor’s orders’. Not to mention the guy seemed to be immune to his death glares and zombie butler (Jules-Albert came in real handy when he couldn’t be bothered to answer the door).</p><p>But it was weird, too. A couple of times, when he had been locked up in his cabin and not eaten anything, when Jules-Albert answered the door, he would come back with a plate of food in hand. More often than not this happened around dinner time. And more often than not, <em>he</em> would be the one behind this sudden emergence of food. The last few times came with ‘doctor’s orders’ notes attached to the plate and getting greasy in the process.</p><p>At first, Jules-Albert looked confused at the orders he was being given from the son of Apollo… and he was a zombie (some of the faces he pulled were actually quite comical). But eventually, the zombie must have figured that this was going to become a common thing because he just accepted the job. Unfortunately, this seemed to both confuse and anger the son of Hades even more than he was at being forced to eat.</p><p>There are some things in this world that not even he would ever understand.</p><p>Like the time where he was given a small automaton lion. He had assumed that it was one of Leo’s creations right up until it started roaring out death threats and other such things in Nyssa’s voice. Needless to say, the automaton ended up in a pillow and chucked in the bathroom mere seconds before <em>he</em> showed up in an attempt to get him down to the archery range for practice like he promised.</p><p>There was also the time where he walked into his newly designed cabin only to find it back to being something off the set of Dracula. He could only assume that it was a Hermes prank due to the fact that he had really only finished with the redecorating just before lunch that same day. Not even a whole hour had passed and his cabin was back to being ‘Vampire Heaven’. And the strangest thing about it was that every Hermes camper was (strangely) accounted for during lunch.</p><p>Regardless of what had been said earlier, zombies and skeletons roamed the camp until the Hades cabin was back to how it had been just before lunch. To this day, the son of Hades had no idea who the culprit actually was.</p><p>But those were just some of the things that had happened to him. There were other things that happened – not necessarily to him but more than definitely about him – because a lot of these things seemed to happen to <em>him.</em> Like Leo actually going up to the son of Apollo and ‘accidentally on purpose’ setting the boy’s arm alight or the ‘accidental’ electric shock that he was sure Jason had sent <em>his</em> way or the prank the Stolls pulled with the help of a certain son of Poseidon. That last one was a bit of a shocker for the simple reason the Stolls actually seemed to be concerned for the son of Hades and so had practically jumped at the chance to prank the Apollo cabin leader.</p><p>And yet, the weirdest would have had to have been when he walked out of his cabin one morning to the sight of an unexpected visit from Frank, Hazel and Reyna. Frank had turned into an elephant and was holding <em>him</em> upside down with his trunk whilst both Hazel and Reyna were glaring daggers into those clearly petrified, blue eyes. Standing behind the Romans were the rest of the seven plus a baseball bat wielding satyr who could have only been Coach Hedge. The son of Hades swore that the only one <em>not</em> there was his father.</p><p>By this time, he was more that positive that something weird was going on around camp. Yeah, he had had his suspicions before, but actually seeing people gang up on <em>him</em> was the last straw. Especially when he though back on how angry he was at the discovery. Something was going on alright, only he wasn’t sure if it was just the camp or something deeper.</p><p>Of course, the weirdest things had to happen either at night or in the presence of the son of Apollo himself. His dreams weren’t ordinary demigod dreams, but they didn’t exactly seem normal either. They actually felt like he was watching some kind of reality television show… with <em>him</em> as one of the main characters. The other was himself. And each ‘episode’ seemed to do something inside of him that didn’t feel very comfortable. That’s why he usually woke up in a sweat.</p><p>And then those same uncomfortable feelings would emerge during the day and whenever <em>he</em> was around him. If he was in the infirmary getting a forced check-up, his insides would be turning and he’d have goose bumps. It was always noticed, of course, but nothing was said about it. <em>He </em>just gave a knowing smirk at the end of the exam before leaving. And whenever their eyes met outside of the infirmary, he was always the one to look away first whilst he tried to get air into his lungs properly.</p><p>Yeah, something strange was definitely going on. And he didn’t like it.</p><p>It finally got too much for him, not knowing what in the name of the Underworld was going on. He locked himself up in his cabin and sent Jules-Albert out to the Athena cabin with a list of books he wanted (scaring the Athena cabin members in the process, of course). Once he had the books, he set himself up comparing this time period to the time period in which he was born; specifically the things that he could relate to.</p><p>To make matters worse, he quickly realised whilst searching the books that these were almost the exact same feelings he had been having when he was interested in Percy. On that discovery he did exactly what he did before; he ran away. A quick Iris Message to his sister later and a note saying ‘back soon’ and he made his way to Camp Jupiter.</p><p>Alas even in the Roman camp, things didn’t seem right. In fact, it felt worse. Every time he was called into the infirmary, he expected to see a certain son of Apollo working there and practically breathing down his neck. And the fact that he actually missed that feeling on the back of his neck at times scared him. Not to mention the others noticed his loss and were starting to get worried themselves.</p><p>His dreams about the boy came more frequently and were stronger than before, sometimes even showing him what <em>he</em> was doing at that moment. And his nightmares were always about them as well; either he lost his life or the son of Apollo lost his. The weird thing about those nightmares, though, was that the son of Hades actually believed them to be true when he woke up so he would send one of the ghosts that he controlled to spy on the boy. And when his thoughts travelled during the day, they always landed on the various times when the two of them had been together and (mostly) he was in danger of possibly dying.</p><p>Eventually Reyna hit the nail on the head when she asked him if he was starting to get a little love sick. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just a little bit. Three months after running away from Camp Half-Blood, the son of Hades was more than sure that he was more than just a little bit in love now that he knew what he was feeling (sort of).</p><p>Of course, as soon as Reyna had made her ‘guess’, all of the children of Venus had to get into the act. It didn’t take long for him to realise that the two groups of Aphrodite’s children were working together because the Venus kids pretty much started on their attempts to get him together with Roman guys where the Aphrodite kids left off. And, much like back at Camp Half Blood, not even locking himself in his room worked. To be honest, it worked less in the Roman camp due to the fact that the Venus kids were not segregated from the other demigods like the Aphrodite kids were in Camp Half Blood.</p><p>Forcing himself to return to where it all began, the son of Hades slipped into the night and the shadows that came with it. Leaving a note for his sister back at the Roman camp (so that she didn’t worry), he locked himself once more in the cabin dedicated to his father on the other side of the continent. Physically, he was drained from his travel. Emotionally, he was drained from whatever it was that was going on inside of him. All he could do was lay on his bed and try to get some sleep.</p><p>But sleep never came. Even though he lay on his bed, the boy’s mind was abuzz with thoughts and images of <em>him</em>. This in turn meant that his insides were riding the emotional rollercoaster that was currently his life once more. The sad thing was, he knew what he had to do in order to end the seemingly endless torture… he just didn’t know if he could do it or not. Not with what he had gone through with Percy plaguing his mind when he even thought about it.</p><p>It was only as the sun peered over the horizon that the son of Hades finally managed to close his eyes. But he wasn’t in his bed when he did. Sometime during the night and his thoughts, the boy had snuck out of his cabin and into the infirmary where he made sure no one was watching. He then climbed onto one of the beds there and continued his thought processes. So, when a certain son of Apollo arrived the next morning to check the infirmary stock, he was surprised to find his shadowy guest. What was even more surprising was the picture frame the boy held as he slept; the photo inside that of a happy son of Apollo forcing a grumpy son of Hades to stand in front of the camera.</p><p>The photo had been taken long before all this weird stuff had begun happening between the two boys and the two camps, but at that moment – when one lay asleep in the other’s infirmary – it meant something more. And the son of Apollo had known that this day would come for some time. Prophetic dreams aside, when a god (or in this case a goddess) decides to grace your dreams on a certain matter, you take note of what they have to say… even if what they say doesn’t happen until weeks or months later.</p><p>So it was that Will Solace, son of Apollo, was known to be seen walking from the infirmary a short time afterwards with a small smile gracing his slightly tingling lips and the peaceful image of a sleeping Nico di Angelo smiling at being tucked in bed fresh in his mind, never to be forgotten.</p>
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